PSYC 213
01/07/2015
Lecture 2
The Mind/Body Problem
(Faith, religion and spirituality)
Issue: Whether view of consciousness is compatible with there being a higher
power
-The way we view the mind/body problem today is partly informed by the
theory of evolution
-Before Darwin, no one had a satisfying explanation for how complexity could
arise from simplicity
(Answer was a creator)
-Darwin showed how simple forms could evolve to create complex forms
(Photo receptors being sensitive to light)
-None of this affects “faith-based” religion, only explanations for religious
belief of a cetain form
Ontological Problem:
-What is the real nature of mental states and processes?
-In what medium do they take place and how are they related to the physical
world
Dualistic (mental and physical)
Dualist vs Monist Theories
Several varieties of dualism: Mind and brain are fundamentally two different
kinds of stuff
Several varieties of monism (only brain and body stuff)
Dualists: conscious intelligence is non physical
-The real you is not in your material body, but rather is a non-spatial thinking
substance (soul)
Monists: conscious intelligence arises from purely physical activity (chemical,
biological, physiological) (mental substances)
Mental Substance
-Conscious experience
(throughts, beliefs, impressions)
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- Winter '08
- LEVITIN
- Consciousness
