Natural Minds

Natural Minds
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 340
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0262264161
ISBN-13 : 9780262264167
Rating : 4/5 (61 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Natural Minds by : Thomas W. Polger

Download or read book Natural Minds written by Thomas W. Polger and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2006-01-20 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Natural Minds Thomas Polger advocates, and defends, the philosophical theory that mind equals brain—that sensations are brain processes—and in doing so brings the mind-brain identity theory back into the philosophical debate about consciousness. The version of identity theory that Polger advocates holds that conscious processes, events, states, or properties are type- identical to biological processes, events, states, or properties—a "tough-minded" account that maintains that minds are necessarily identical to brains, a position held by few current identity theorists. Polger's approach to what William James called the "great blooming buzzing confusion" of consciousness begins with the idea that we need to know more about brains in order to understand consciousness fully, but recognizes that biology alone cannot provide the entire explanation. Natural Minds takes on issues from philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and metaphysics, moving freely among them in its discussion. Polger begins by answering two major objections to identity theory—Hilary Putnam's argument from multiple realizability (which discounts identity theory because creatures with brains unlike ours could also have mental states) and Saul Kripke's modal argument against mind-brain identity (based on the apparent contingency of the identity statement). He then offers a detailed account of functionalism and functional realization, which offer the most serious obstacle to consideration of identity theory. Polger argues that identity theory can itself satisfy the kind of explanatory demands that are often believed to favor functionalism.


Natural Minds Related Books

Natural Minds
Language: en
Pages: 340
Authors: Thomas W. Polger
Categories: Psychology
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006-01-20 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Natural Minds Thomas Polger advocates, and defends, the philosophical theory that mind equals brain—that sensations are brain processes—and in doing so b
Mind
Language: en
Pages: 404
Authors:
Categories: New Thought
Type: BOOK - Published: 1898 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Natural-Born Cyborgs
Language: en
Pages: 240
Authors: Andy Clark
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2003-06-05 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From Robocop to the Terminator to Eve 8, no image better captures our deepest fears about technology than the cyborg, the person who is both flesh and metal, br
The Measure of All Minds
Language: en
Pages: 632
Authors: José Hernández-Orallo
Categories: Computers
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-01-11 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Are psychometric tests valid for a new reality of artificial intelligence systems, technology-enhanced humans, and hybrids yet to come? Are the Turing Test, the
Losing Eden
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Lucy Jones
Categories: Nature
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-04-27 - Publisher: National Geographic Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Beautifully written, movingly told and meticulously researched ... a convincing plea for a wilder, richer world' Isabell