Knowledge and Reality Nick Zangwill

Term 1 (Autumn) Philosophy of Mind Three topics Mind and Body Free will Personal identity

First set of lectures on: Mind and Body

First Topic The nature of the mind The relation of the mind to the material / physical world.

Descartes

Some philosophical issues: What is the mind? Is it material / physical? Or is it, or must it be, quite different?

We need to identify our topic. What is the mind? What are we talking about? What kinds of things are mental states? We need some understanding of what our target is, what interests us? What concerns us, and is puzzling, and has interested philosophers are the following features: ….

Some characteristics of the mental Qualitative Intentional Freedom Specially known

Qualitative states Sensations: Itches, tickles, pains, feeling that one is going to throw up, stubbing one’s toe Emotions Fear, anger, love. Perceptual states Seeing red, sound o a trumpet.

The ‘Subjectivity’ of the mental There is something it is like to have these states. We need to experience them to know them. They have a ‘phenomenological’ character or quality.

Second characteristic: ‘Intentionality’ Mental states have content. Aboutness. John believes that Manchester United have won.

John believes that Manchester United have won John hopes that Manchester United have won John fears that Manchester United have won John is angry that Manchester United have won Jane is angry that Manchester United have won etc Hence the idea of propositional attitudes… attitudes (fear etc) to propositions (that ….) (One can have intentional states towards an object rather than a proposition, e.g. fearing a bear… but don’t worry about that.

believes desires hopes Propositional attitudes Contents pqrs

Sensations emotionsbeliefs Qualitative states Intentional states Sensations… are not rational or irrational unlike propositional attitudes. Emotions…. Pride that… fear that

Two other characteristics of the mental Which we won’t focus on quite so much … but which are important Self-knowledge, the special way that I know my own sensations or intentional states, which is unlike the way I know of things in the outer world or the mental states of other people. Infallible self- knowledge. This seems strange. Freedom (we will do this as a separate topic)

The Mind-Body Problem Above we have looked at the kind of mental states we are concerned with… but why is there a problem? Some characteristics of the mind/mental states make us think that they are or cannot be physical. Other characteristics of the mind/mental states make us think that they are and must be physical.

The Problem…. On the one hand, subjectivity, aboutness, meaning, rationality, freedom, infallible self-knowledge… are not found in the world of brute matter. They seem utterly different…. in kind. So…(?)… the mind is separate from matter. But also… on the other hand… mental states seem to have spatial location, and mind is bound up with the body. We need a body for a functioning mind. The brain seems important?! And the mind emerged from evolutionary processes… So…(?) … the mind is physical. Two set of features are in tension… gives us a dilemma. That’s why there is a mind-body problem.

OR Jack (J. J. C.) Smart