Functionalism And The Inverted Spectrum - 1545 Words

Imagine walking past a garden with an assortment of flowers. Now close your eyes and take in each distinguishing familiar smell. As you take a whiff you smell the differences between the roses, lilies, and even tulips. We can tell the sound of a drum from that of a gong; the touch of cool, smooth marble as we run our fingers over it distinctively feeling the difference from that of sandpaper. Our everyday lives are continuous experiences of sensations. These sensations have characteristic qualitative features, which are called â€Å"phenomenal†, â€Å"phenomenological† or â€Å"sensory† qualities. In philosophical terms these sensations can be referred to as qualia, which are defined as properties of experiences that type them in phenomenological respects . The understanding on the knowledge of other minds has provided a puzzle known as the inverted spectrum. This possibility has emerged as an important challenge to functionalist accounts of qualia. Functionalism is committed to defining mental states in terms of their cause and effects . By identifying sensory events with casual roles, however, functionalism appears to be missing qualitative aspects all together. The topic of spectrum inversion has often been raised as a contradiction to functionalism, as well as other materialist theories about consciousness. These negates to functionalism show that even when all the relevant physical facts are held constant, the facts about qualia can still vary, hence that the phenomenal must be overShow MoreRelatedThe s Theory Of Biological Naturalism937 Words   |  4 Pagesperspective, and discuss how it provides a sufficient and an insufficient account of conscious mental phenomena. Functionalism claims that mental states are nothing but functi onal, causal relations between elements in the brain, such as beliefs and desires, and the external world. First, I analyze the given statement from a functionalist stance. Then, I discuss possible objections to functionalism focusing on the notion of â€Å"qualia† and John Searle’s notion of the Background. Finally, I shall conclude withRead MoreMental States Of The Mind Body Problem1725 Words   |  7 Pagesbrain but appears completely normal questions the mental states that the patient has. Looking at the views based on different theories that five doctors express, the things that stand out to me are multiple realizability, Token Identity theory and functionalism. Because of these, I argue that the patient possess the usual range of mental states. Body: The study of how the mind and body interact with each other has been a concern of many areas of study. This leads to the mind-body problem, whose originsRead MoreFunctionalism And Qualia On The Mind Body Problem2244 Words   |  9 PagesFunctionalism and Qualia Introduction: It can be very difficult to find a universal proposal that offers a solution to the mind body problem. While solutions to this problem differ greatly, all attempt to answer questions such as: What makes a mental state mental? What is the fundamental nature of the mental? Or more specifically speaking, what makes a thought a thought? Or what makes a pain a pain? In an attempt to answer these questions, many philosophers over the centuries have rejected, proposedRead MoreI Walk Into A Local Coffee Shop936 Words   |  4 Pagesyou and I are fundamentally different persons with fundamentally different qualia. In this paper, I will examine three highly influential arguments for the existence of qualia (the inverted spectrum argument, the zombie argument, and the knowledge argument) which I find to be persuasive in challenging views of functionalism and physicalism. Definitions and Clarifications Before outlining the more in-depth theories and experiments, I believe that there is sufficient cause to go through the basics ofRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 PagesGraduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia. In an article written in 2005, he discusses his intellectual background. He writes that he has steadily argued for positivism (the ability to measure things rather than speculate about them) and functionalism (that everything in organizations should have a purpose). This stems from a lifelong commitment to taking a scientific view of organizations. He explains that his positivist view of organizations is based on his use of quantitative methods, the