He specializes in the philosophy of logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mathematics he is married to fellow mit philosopher sally haslanger. Sep 11, 2009 however, yablo does not seem to be committed to the dimensional account of determinables. It may thus seem as obvious that it occurs as we pursue our lives. The pain you feel when you sprain your ankle causes you to open the freezer in. Mental causation occurs when a mental property or state causes another property or a behavior. Counterfactual conditionals have been appealed to in various ways to show how the mind can be causally efficacious. By contrast, yablo keeps his dualism in the closet, presenting his argument as one. It is called physical determinism in yablo 1992, though as yablo and.
Pdf this article aims to provide a brief overview of the mental causation problem and its proposed solutions. Folk psychology is almost entirely based on mental causation, so that if it were not real our entire personal and social lives would have to be rethought at the personal, social, and legal levels. Certain positions on the mindbody problem including some forms of physicalism make such causation look highly problematic. David robb has argued in the properties of mental causation, the philosophical quarterly, 47 1997, pp. Mental causation and consciousness princeton university. Mental causation revised edition by john heil editor, alfred mele editor isbn. The problem divides into several distinct subproblems, including the problem of causal exclusion, the problem of anomalism, and the problem of externalism.
Recommended textbooks include danial stoljars physicalism, routledge 2010 p, tom cranes elements of mind, oxford university press, 2001 eom, and jaegwon. Mental causation stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. But upon closer inspection, one might maintain that not even the exclusion argument seems to have the final word on mental causation let alone on free will cf. A no causal rivalry solution to the problem of mental causation. Externalism about mental content stanford encyclopedia of. Yablo suggests that we can understand the possibility of mental causation by supposing that mental properties determine physical properties, in the classic sense of determination according to which red determines scarlet. First, i argue that stephen yablos influential account of mental causation is susceptible to counterexamples involving what i call disproportional mental causation. These things are all a bit off the same piece, in spite of the claims to the contrary on the part of those who did not like the relationship. Traditionally the problem of mental causation has been that of understanding how a mental substance thought to be immaterial could interact with the body, a physical substance. The metaphysics of mental causation 5 this conviction seems to be deeply embedded in the discussion of mental causation. Yablo 1992 every time the pigeon is presented with red objects, it pecks at them. Mental causation, internet encyclopedia of philosophy. This conceptual knot, the mental causation problem, is the core of the mindbody problem, closely connected to the problems of free will, consciousness, and intentionality. Free will, agent causation, and disappearing agents.
A model of mental causation adopting the ncsd perspective is proposed which, it is argued, is consistent with all that is currently known about the operations of the human central nervous system, including the brain. Closet dualism and mental causation canadian journal of. Third, a causal processs being some specific kind of process of causation by events or states that suffices for agent causation may be said to be a way of being an instance of agent causation. The study of free will must take compatibilism about free will and determinism as the default view,3 and this is centrally a view about how some of our desires are causally efficacious in the. Concerns about mental causation are concerns about how it is possible for mental states to cause anything to happen. Closet dualism and mental causation volume 28 issue 2 brian leiter, alexander miller. This is a comprehensive collection that can be used in university courses at all levels introductory, advanced undergraduate, graduate.
Internalism or individualism denies this, and it affirms that having those. The stanford encyclopedia of philosophy spring 20 ed. How does what we believe, want, see, feel, hope, or dread manage to cause us to act. Essence and causation are fundamental in metaphysics, but tittle is said. Week 10 chalmers zombie argument week 11 jacksons knowledge argument. The pursuit of our lives seems replete with mental causation. Nonetheless, the free will and mental causation debates have proceeded largely independently of each other. Third, the conflict might arise from the theoretical role that the distinction between determinables and determinates is supposed to play in mental causation. My anthology of articles in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of mind. What is the nature of the force which produces that which we call mental fascination, which latter i have defined as. Pdf this article aims to provide a brief overview of the mental. Noncartesian substance dualism and the problem of mental. Nonetheless, the free will and mental causation debates have proceeded largely independently of.
Counterfactual causation and mental causation springerlink. Internalism or individualism denies this, and it affirms that having those intentional mental states depends solely on our intrinsic properties. The questions of how to understand free will and mental causation are clearly connected, for events of seemingly free choosing are mental events that appear to be efficacious visavis other events. If x is a physical event and y is a cause or effect of x, then y, too, must be a physical event p.
The problem of mental causation has been with us at least since rene descartes claimed that mind and body are separate substances. Mental causation there is mental causation whenever a mental state, event, process, or activity has a causal effect. On the one hand, the original motivation for physicalism was the need to explain the place of mental causation in the physical world. Despite its attractions the suggestion seems hard to accept. Stephen yablo has recently argued for a novel solution to the mental causation problem. He specializes in the philosophy of logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, philosophy of langua. Phi 202 philosophy of mind spring semester 201617, university of sheffield lecturer dr luca barlassina email. Traditionally the problem of mental causation has been that of understanding. Mental causation stanford encyclopedia of philosophywinter. If disembodied pain is a determinate of pain, then so is embodied pain, one might think. The question is almost always asked in terms of how the mind can have a place in the physical world.
A full defense of mental causation is not just a matter of securing causal efficacy but also of situating our notion of mental properties in relation to difficult issues concerning awareness, control, and judgment. Mental causation internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Explaining how mind can make a difference has proved challenging, however. Disproportional mental causation disproportional mental causation tiehen, justin 20100521 00.
The problem of mental causation is a conceptual issue in the philosophy of mind. The paper first identifies four approaches that seem to commit precisely this mistake. Skinner professor of philosophy at the massachusetts institute of technology mit, and taught previously at the university of michigan, ann arbor. Cause and essence deep blue university of michigan.
However, it has often been overestimated what the truth of certain counterfactuals actually indicates about causation. More importantly, how can a mental action or event in the mind be the cause of a physical action by the body. Cox1 abstract stephen yablo offers a solution to the problem of mental causation by claiming that the physical is a determinate of the mental s determinable, and therefore the mental and physical do not compete for causal relevance. I argue that it is not actually his notion of realization that is doing the work in his account of mental causation, but rather the assumption that certain physical properties entail mental properties that do not. That is, there exist descriptions of free will that could be called causal indeterminist or eventcausal libertarian views of free will as robert kane describes his own position. While reductionism has the virtue of presenting a clear account of mental causation, it faces the problem of justifying the reducibility of the mental to the physical. Free will and mental causation jessica wilson toronto.
On the one hand, the original motivation for physicalism was the need to explain the place of mental causation in the. However, yablo does not seem to be committed to the dimensional account of determinables. Nonreductive physicalism and mental causation nonreductive physicalism background reading. No causal chain involving a physical event will ever cross the boundary of the physical into the nonphysical. If the body is only physical and material, how can a nonphysical and immaterial mind possibly act on the body. Mental causation and shoemakerrealization springerlink. Some have urged that the project faces an insurmountable dilemma. Physicalism, by contrast, seems illequipped to explain the distinctively intentional or ideological. There is mental causation whenever a mental state, event, process, or activity has a causal effect. The problem of mental causation concerns about whether and how the mental can have causal effects on the affairs in the physical realm has been one of the central issues in philosophy of mind and metaphysics since the beginning of the modern age. Free will and mental quausation university of toronto. He specializes in the philosophy of logic, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, and philosophy of language. The many problems of mental causation excerpt, jaegwon kim 23.
Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. The exclusion problem and counterfactual theories of causation. A puzzle for physicalism this paper is about a puzzle which lies at the heart of contemporary physicalist theories of mind. So if a view about the nature of mind does not allow for mental causation, that is a very. What we do depends not only on how our bodies are put together, but also on what we think. Stephen yablo, in his paper mental causation 1992, offers an elegant solution to this problem of mental causation one of few causal compatibilist solutions on offer to date.
However, in my view it is advantageous to consider mental causation first. May 21, 2010 disproportional mental causation disproportional mental causation tiehen, justin 20100521 00. Its enough to consider the titles of seminal books like c. Jesper kallestrup 2006, the causal exclusion argument, philosophical studies 1, 459485. Mental causationthe minds causal interaction with the world, and in particular, its influence on behavioris central to our conception of ourselves as agents. Many of our mental states such as beliefs and desires are intentional mental states, or mental states with content. Classical and contemporary readings was published by oxford university press in 2002. Mental causation the minds causal interaction with the world, and in particular, its influence on behavioris central to our conception of ourselves as agents.
Externalism with regard to mental content says that in order to have certain types of intentional mental states e. The concept of mental causation plays a central role in how we think of the mind and of human agency. Mental causationthe minds causal interaction with the world, and in particular. Mindworld interaction is taken for granted in everyday experience and in scientific practice. The arguments discussed involve erroneous assumptions about the connection. First, i argue that stephen yablos influential account of mental causation is susceptible to counterexamples involving what i. An important point of various discussions in consciousness studies notably about mental causation and free agency, the alleged causal closure of the physical, will be analysed on the basis. The arguments discussed involve erroneous assumptions about the. Agreeing that the question which your highness raises is one which can most reasonably be asked, descartes.
Causation, mental internet encyclopedia of philosophy. David papineau, the causal closure of the physical and naturalism in ohpm. Determinates and their determinables do not compete for causal relevance, so if mental and physical properties are related as determinable and determinates, they should not. Common sense and philosophical tradition agree that mind makes a difference. That problem, in short, is how to account for the commonsense idea that intentional thoughts or intentional mental states are causes of intentional actions. Noncartesian substance dualism and the problem of mental causation. But upon closer inspection, one might maintain that not even the exclusion argument seems to have the final word on mental causationlet alone on free will cf. Free will and mental causation jessica wilson toronto and sara bernstein duke it is clear that the questions of how to understand free will and mental causation are deeply connected, for events of seemingly free choosing are mental events that appear capable of causing other mental and physical events e. He traces its early appearance in the history of philosophical inquiry, specifically in the work of plato, aristotle, descartes. On this view, mental causation is just physical causation that has been conceptualized using mental concepts, or described using mental vocabulary. Free will and mental quausation journal of the american. The notion of free will does not require either dualism where mental activity controls physical effects nor topdown causality. Mental causation and consciousness devising an account of mental causation has been, for the past three decades, one of the main preoccupations of philosophers of mind who are committed to physicalism in one form or another.
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