Functionalism According To Fod
Fodor begins his article on the mind-body problem with a review of the current theories of dualism and materialism. According to dualism, the mind and body are two separate entities with the body being physical and the mind being nonphysical. If this is the case, though, then there can be no interaction between the two. The mind could not influence anything physical without violating the laws of physics. The materialist theory, on the other hand, states that the mind is not distinct from the physical. In fact, supporters of the materialist theory believe that behavior does not have mental causes. When the materialist theory is split into logical behaviorism and the central-state ...
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Both mental states and objects are a certain collection of perceptions that together identify the particular state or object.
Fodor develops the idea of functionalism by combining certain parts of logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory. From logical behaviorism, Fodor incorporates the idea that mental processes can be represented by physical if-then statements. As such, behavior and mental causation are no longer distinct and unable to interact. Also, logical behaviorism provides a way for mental causes to interact with other mental causes. This, in turn, may result in a behavioral effect. The last point is also a characteristic of the central-state identity theory. One doctrine of the central-state identity theory is called "token physicalism." Token physicalism states that all mental states that currently exist are neurophysiological. Thus, token physicalism does not place physical restrictions on the type of substance capable of having mental ...
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because the output is the result of interaction between the input and the current state of the system. The metaphor also demonstrates the insignificance of the physical state of the system when determining whether two mental states are alike. Thus, it shows that the processes, rather than the composition, of the system determine the mental state.
Searle disagrees with the view that the physical composition of the system does not influence the mental state of the system. To support this, he develops the Chinese room argument. Suppose a computer program is written that simulates an understanding of Chinese. Thus, when the computer is presented with a question in Chinese, it ...
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"Functionalism According To Fod." Essayworld.com. August 10, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2025. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Functionalism-According-To-Fod/50526.
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