Mind and Body
Monism/ Materialism
Materialism is the theory that our minds are inseparable from our body.
● Consciousness is a by-product of the body, so there is no need to explain how they interconnect
● When the body dies, the mind also dies. Therefore the two are the same thing.
The body walks/ talks/ and sleeps, whereas the mind determines mental behavior and characteristics, and
displays qualities such as intelligence and humor. There is no mind or body that survives death (at death, the
body dies and therefore the mind also dies).
Hard materialists: Consciousness is nothing more than brain activity. So anything that doesn’t have a brain
doesn’t have consciousness. There only exists a physical self
Soft materialist: Consciousness is more than just a brain process. There are both emotions and the physical
self.
JAT Robinson
“A man does not have a body, he is a body. He is flesh animated by the soul, the whole conceived as a
psycho-physical unity”
Carnap
(soft materialism)
Logical behaviorism: The mind is an expression of the behavior of the body, and emotions can be described
completely in physical terms.
● Any sentence that seems to describe a mental experience can be written through physical language.
This proves that consciousness is a by-product of the brain
Ryle
(behaviorism)
The mind is separate from the body and it is simply a ‘ghost in a machine’: it is trapped in the body. This means
that the mind and the body also function in two different ways.
The mind is not a separate entity from the body, but it is simply an amalgamation of abilities and actions
directed through the brain and central nervous system; it is a collective term for some of the things that
human beings can do, and it is not a separate entity from the body.
He makes the following example: Imagine a visitor in England who asks “where is the university”. The
visitor supposes that the university is a physical building, but in reality it is a collective term for the
amalgamated departments, buildings, and people that constitute it. In the same way, the mind is not a
, physical object distinct from the body, but it is a mechanism within the body that represents the
ensemble of its behaviors and actions.
Monism/ Materialism
Materialism is the theory that our minds are inseparable from our body.
● Consciousness is a by-product of the body, so there is no need to explain how they interconnect
● When the body dies, the mind also dies. Therefore the two are the same thing.
The body walks/ talks/ and sleeps, whereas the mind determines mental behavior and characteristics, and
displays qualities such as intelligence and humor. There is no mind or body that survives death (at death, the
body dies and therefore the mind also dies).
Hard materialists: Consciousness is nothing more than brain activity. So anything that doesn’t have a brain
doesn’t have consciousness. There only exists a physical self
Soft materialist: Consciousness is more than just a brain process. There are both emotions and the physical
self.
JAT Robinson
“A man does not have a body, he is a body. He is flesh animated by the soul, the whole conceived as a
psycho-physical unity”
Carnap
(soft materialism)
Logical behaviorism: The mind is an expression of the behavior of the body, and emotions can be described
completely in physical terms.
● Any sentence that seems to describe a mental experience can be written through physical language.
This proves that consciousness is a by-product of the brain
Ryle
(behaviorism)
The mind is separate from the body and it is simply a ‘ghost in a machine’: it is trapped in the body. This means
that the mind and the body also function in two different ways.
The mind is not a separate entity from the body, but it is simply an amalgamation of abilities and actions
directed through the brain and central nervous system; it is a collective term for some of the things that
human beings can do, and it is not a separate entity from the body.
He makes the following example: Imagine a visitor in England who asks “where is the university”. The
visitor supposes that the university is a physical building, but in reality it is a collective term for the
amalgamated departments, buildings, and people that constitute it. In the same way, the mind is not a
, physical object distinct from the body, but it is a mechanism within the body that represents the
ensemble of its behaviors and actions.
