Physicalism

The primary aim of this study is to dissolve the mind-body problem. It shows how the âproblemâ separates into two distinct sets of issues concerning ontology on the one hand and explanation on the other and argues that explanation â whether or not human behaviour can be explained in physical terms â is the more crucial. The author contends that a functionalist methodology in psychology and neurophysiology will prove adequate to explain human behaviour. Defence of this thesis requires: an examination of the mental/physical dichotomy and its rejection in favour of a distinction between psychological and physical terms; a description and discussion of functionalism in psychology and neurophysiology showing how the notorious problem of the necessary intensionality of psychological terms may be circumvented; an examination of the role of computer simulation in psycho-physical research; and an explanation of how the phenomena of sentience fit the functional framework. The book concludes that the thesis presented is in all essentials that of Aristotle; Aristotle had no âmind-body problemâ and were it not for a subsequent over-obsession with Cartesian scepticism we need not have had one either. . Language: English