eliminative materialism
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Eliminative materialism is a radical philosophical theory that asserts that our common understanding of the mind, known as folk psychology, is fundamentally flawed and will eventually be replaced by a scientific explanation based on neuroscience. Proponents argue that concepts like beliefs, desires, and intentions do not actually exist as distinct mental states. Instead, they contend that the mind is nothing more than the brain, and that a complete scientific description of brain activity will fully account for all human behavior and experience. This view suggests that our current mental vocabulary is akin to outdated scientific concepts, like phlogiston, which were discarded as scientific understanding advanced.1
- folk psychology
- analytic philosophy - Eliminative materialism
- materialism - Logic, intentionality , and psychical research
- philosophy of mind - Radical behaviourism
- folk psychology
- materialism - Disappearance central-state theories
- materialism - Reductionism , consciousness, and the brain
- materialism
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analytic philosophyEliminative materialismThe most radical theory of the mind developed in this period is eliminative materialism. Introduced in the late 1980s and refined and modified throughout the 1990s, it contended that scientific theory does not require reference to the mental states posited in informal, or…
Read MoreThe most radical theory of the mind developed in this period is eliminative materialism. Introduced in the late 1980s and refined and modified throughout the 1990s, it contended that scientific theory does not require reference to the mental states posited in informal, or…
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Western philosophyIdentity theory, functionalism, and eliminative materialismLogical positivism and naturalized epistemology were forms of materialism. Beginning about 1970, these approaches were applied to the human mind, giving rise to three general viewpoints: identity theory, functionalism, and eliminative materialism. Identity theory is the view that mental states are identical to…
Read MoreLogical positivism and naturalized epistemology were forms of materialism. Beginning about 1970, these approaches were applied to the human mind, giving rise to three general viewpoints: identity theory, functionalism, and eliminative materialism. Identity theory is the view that mental states are identical to…
Read More