Philosophy and Psychology L4: Folk Psychology, Churchland, Denett

- Functionalism acknowledges that there is an inner dimension to the mind (yes/ no)

- Behaviorism acknowledges that there is an inner dimension to the mind (yes/ no)

There is a direct relation between mental states and someone's behavior in functionalism (yes/no)

- we ascribe mental states to others in order to explain their behavior, but there is no direct relation

Sellars: first we learn to ascribe mental states to other agents to predict their behavior, then we start to ascribe mental states to ourselves

Is this for or against substance dualism?

Against. Dualism: starting point own knowledge (introspection), then we infer the mental states of others based on their behavior (problem of other minds)

folk psychology = everyday practice of ascribing mental states to other agents in order to explain or predict their behavior

"Folk psychology should be eliminated"

A) Churchland

B) Denett

Churchland: a theory should be judged by

1. how much it explains: phenomena remain unexplained

2. whether and tp what extent there is progress: resist reduction

3. to what extent it fits with other scientific results: doesn't fit with scientific findings (witches, phlogestion, ether)

Why is folk psychology bad?

"Folk psychology is not perfect, but it does the job"

A) Churchland

B) Denett

Physical, design, intentional stance

Denett, which stance?

physical stance= objects behave according to the laws of physics

Denett, which stance?

intentional stance = objects behave as ideal rational agents with beliefs and desires

Denett, which stance?

design stance = objects behave as if they are designed with a specific function

Which stance has the highest predictive power, but is very impractical?

physical stance

Which stance has the good  predictive power, and is average practical? design stance

Which stance has the average predictive power, and is extremly practical? intentional stance

"we attribute mental states to others in order to explain their behavior" (folk psychology)

who agrees?

A) Denett

B) Churchland

C) Both

"folk psychology is rooted in our everyday practice to make sense of other agents"

who agrees?

A) Denett

B) Churchland

C) Both

"Psychology should be eliminated and be replaced by neuroscience"

who agrees?

A) Denett

B) Churchland

C) Both

"We need psychology to make sense of neuroscientific findings"

who agrees?

A) Denett

B) Churchland

C) Both

Example: pleasure

B physical explanation= pleasure results from dopamine release in nucleus accumbens

A functional explanation= pleasure is a feeling of happy satisfaction due to a stimulus that leads to a certain behavioral expression

A) Denett

B) Churchland