Armstrong

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David

Armstrong

Background:

Physicalism

is the view by “We can give a complete account of man in purely

physico-chemical terms”

The

mind is not something behind the behaviour of the body, merely a

part of that behaviour

The

mind is not an inner arena, it is outward act

Mental

states are nothing but physical states of the central nervous system

The

world is nothing but perception or awareness of the state of our own

mind

The

Brain is the mediator between the body and the mind

Key

Ideas:

The

Nature of Mind Summary

Begins

by evaluating why science is a special authority in deciding

questions about the nature of man

This

is because science doesn’t necessarily prove claims, rather it

reaches an intellectual consensus, which is the best authority

available

Science

is ‘the best clue we have to the nature of man’

Behaviourism

Behaviourism

suggests that there is no ‘mind’ that is separate from the body

(like Descartes proposes); the mind is simply part of the physical

behaviour of a body.

Behaviourism

conveys that all knowledge pertaining to an individual can be

obtained through observing said individual’s behaviour.

‘The

mind is not an inner area, it is outward act.’

An

opposing argument to Behaviourism is that a person’s actions may

not parallel their inner thoughts

Disposition

Brittle

materials are those that break easily when subjected to small forces

Breaking

and shattering easily is NOT brittleness; it’s the ‘manifestation

of brittleness’

Even

though someone’s thoughts many not correlate to their actions,

they can be disposed to behave in a particular fashion**

‘The

man does not behave, but he does have a disposition to behave.’

Key

Quotes:

“All

mental phenomena has neural dependence”

“We

are creatures of matter and must learn to accept that fact”

“There

is no need to draw a distinction between mental processes and their

expression in physical behaviour”

“Something

is currently going on, in the strongest and most literal sense of

going on, and this something is my thought”

“Perhaps

mind can be defined not as behaviour but rather as the inner cause

of certain behaviour”

“Men

have Minds, that is to say, they have sensations, emotions, beliefs,

thoughts, purposes and desires”

“We

can give a complete account of man in purely physico-chemical terms”

“Should

we concede science a special authority to decide questions about the

nature of man”

“Science

has provided us with a method of deciding disputed questions”

“It

is the scientific vision of man, and not the philosophical or

religious or artistic or moral vision of man, that is the best clue

we have to the nature of man”

“The

mind was not something behind the behaviour of the body, it was

simply part of that physical behaviour”

“The

mind is not an inner arena, it is outward act”

“If

there is no need to draw a distinction between mental processes and

their expression in physical behaviour, but if instead the mental

processes are identified with their so called expressions, then the

existence of mind stands in no conflict with the view that man is

nothing but a physico-chemical mechanism”

However

“There can be mental processes going on although there is no

behaviour occurring that could possibly be treated as expressions of

those processes”

“When

I think my thoughts do not issue any action, it seems as obvious as

anything is obvious that there is something actually going on in me

that constitutes my thought”

“Something

is currently going on, in the strongest and most literal sense of

going on, and this something is my thought”

“Our

notion of a mind and of individual mental states is logically tied

to behaviour”

“Perhaps

mind can be defined not as behaviour but rather as the inner cause

of certain behaviour”

“The

verdict of modern science seems to be that the sole cause of mind

betokening behaviour in man and higher animals is the

physico-chemical workings of the central nervous system”

“Behaviourists

were wrong to identify man with behaviour”

“In

talking about the mind we do not have to go behind outward behaviour

to inner states”

“The

Mind is rather that which stands behind and brings about our complex

behaviour”

“My

proposed synthesis is that the mind is properly conceived as an

inner principle”

“We

are conscious, We have experiences”

“My

proposal is that consciousness in this sense of the word is nothing

but perception or awareness of the state of our own mind”

“And

so consciousness of our own mental state becomes simply the scanning

of one part of our central nervous system by another”

“It

is fair to say that those scientists who still reject the

physico-chemical account of man do so primarily for philosophical,

or moral or religious reasons, and only secondarily, and

half-heartedly, for reasons of scientific detail”

“Compatible

with the view that man is nothing but a physio-chemical mechanism”

“Only

in science that men versed in their subject can, after investigation

that is more or less prolonged, and which may in some cases extend

beyond a single human lifetime, reach substantial agreement about

what is the case”

“What

better authority do we have than such a consensus?”

“The

mind is not an inner arena, it is an outward act”

“There

is no need to draw a distinction between mental processes and their

expression in physical behaviour”-behaviourism, not A

“It

is our common experience that there can be mental processes going on

although there is no behaviour occurring that could possibly be

treated as expressions of those processes”

“A

disposition to behave”

“He

is angry although he does not behave angrily, because he is disposed

so to behave”

“Behaviourism

denies this, and so it is unsatisfactory as a theory of mind”

“Mind

can be defined not as behaviour, but rather as the inner cause of

certain behaviour”

“It

does not make such a Physicalist view inevitable, it does make it

possible”

“Physico-chemical

workings of the central nervous system”-cause of thought

“Dispositions

are actual causes”

“Dispositions

as states, which is the view that is natural to science, is the

correct one”

“The

Behaviourists were wrong to identify the mind with behaviour”

“A

mental state as a state of the person apt for producing certain

ranges of behaviour”

“My

proposed Synthesis is that the mind is properly conceived as an

inner principle, but a principle that is identified in terms of the

outward behaviour it is apt for bringing about”

“Mental

states are in fact nothing but physical states of the central

nervous system”

“Although

Behaviourism may be a satisfactory account of the mind from an

other-person point of view, it will not do as a first person

account”

“Aware

of much more than mere behaviour”

“Consciousness,

in this sense of the word, is nothing but perception or awareness of

the state of our own mind”

“Consciousness

is a self-scanning mechanism in the central nervous system”

David

Armstrong

Background:

Physicalism

is the view by “We can give a complete account of man in purely

physico-chemical terms”

The

mind is not something behind the behaviour of the body, merely a

part of that behaviour

The

mind is not an inner arena, it is outward act

Mental

states are nothing but physical states of the central nervous system

The

world is nothing but perception or awareness of the state of our own

mind

The

Brain is the mediator between the body and the mind

Key

Ideas:

The

Nature of Mind Summary

Begins

by evaluating why science is a special authority in deciding

questions about the nature of man

This

is because science doesn’t necessarily prove claims, rather it

reaches an intellectual consensus, which is the best authority

available

Science

is ‘the best clue we have to the nature of man’

Behaviourism

Behaviourism

suggests that there is no ‘mind’ that is separate from the body

(like Descartes proposes); the mind is simply part of the physical

behaviour of a body.

Behaviourism

conveys that all knowledge pertaining to an individual can be

obtained through observing said individual’s behaviour.

‘The

mind is not an inner area, it is outward act.’

An

opposing argument to Behaviourism is that a person’s actions may

not parallel their inner thoughts

Disposition

Brittle

materials are those that break easily when subjected to small forces

Breaking

and shattering easily is NOT brittleness; it’s the ‘manifestation

of brittleness’

Even

though someone’s thoughts many not correlate to their actions,

they can be disposed to behave in a particular fashion**

‘The

man does not behave, but he does have a disposition to behave.’

Key

Quotes:

“All

mental phenomena has neural dependence”

“We

are creatures of matter and must learn to accept that fact”

“There

is no need to draw a distinction between mental processes and their

expression in physical behaviour”

“Something

is currently going on, in the strongest and most literal sense of

going on, and this something is my thought”

“Perhaps

mind can be defined not as behaviour but rather as the inner cause

of certain behaviour”

“Men

have Minds, that is to say, they have sensations, emotions, beliefs,

thoughts, purposes and desires”

“We

can give a complete account of man in purely physico-chemical terms”

“Should

we concede science a special authority to decide questions about the

nature of man”

“Science

has provided us with a method of deciding disputed questions”

“It

is the scientific vision of man, and not the philosophical or

religious or artistic or moral vision of man, that is the best clue

we have to the nature of man”

“The

mind was not something behind the behaviour of the body, it was

simply part of that physical behaviour”

“The

mind is not an inner arena, it is outward act”

“If

there is no need to draw a distinction between mental processes and

their expression in physical behaviour, but if instead the mental

processes are identified with their so called expressions, then the

existence of mind stands in no conflict with the view that man is

nothing but a physico-chemical mechanism”

However

“There can be mental processes going on although there is no

behaviour occurring that could possibly be treated as expressions of

those processes”

“When

I think my thoughts do not issue any action, it seems as obvious as

anything is obvious that there is something actually going on in me

that constitutes my thought”

“Something

is currently going on, in the strongest and most literal sense of

going on, and this something is my thought”

“Our

notion of a mind and of individual mental states is logically tied

to behaviour”

“Perhaps

mind can be defined not as behaviour but rather as the inner cause

of certain behaviour”

“The

verdict of modern science seems to be that the sole cause of mind

betokening behaviour in man and higher animals is the

physico-chemical workings of the central nervous system”

“Behaviourists

were wrong to identify man with behaviour”

“In

talking about the mind we do not have to go behind outward behaviour

to inner states”

“The

Mind is rather that which stands behind and brings about our complex

behaviour”

“My

proposed synthesis is that the mind is properly conceived as an

inner principle”

“We

are conscious, We have experiences”

“My

proposal is that consciousness in this sense of the word is nothing

but perception or awareness of the state of our own mind”

“And

so consciousness of our own mental state becomes simply the scanning

of one part of our central nervous system by another”

“It

is fair to say that those scientists who still reject the

physico-chemical account of man do so primarily for philosophical,

or moral or religious reasons, and only secondarily, and

half-heartedly, for reasons of scientific detail”

“Compatible

with the view that man is nothing but a physio-chemical mechanism”

“Only

in science that men versed in their subject can, after investigation

that is more or less prolonged, and which may in some cases extend

beyond a single human lifetime, reach substantial agreement about

what is the case”

“What

better authority do we have than such a consensus?”

“The

mind is not an inner arena, it is an outward act”

“There

is no need to draw a distinction between mental processes and their

expression in physical behaviour”-behaviourism, not A

“It

is our common experience that there can be mental processes going on

although there is no behaviour occurring that could possibly be

treated as expressions of those processes”

“A

disposition to behave”

“He

is angry although he does not behave angrily, because he is disposed

so to behave”

“Behaviourism

denies this, and so it is unsatisfactory as a theory of mind”

“Mind

can be defined not as behaviour, but rather as the inner cause of

certain behaviour”

“It

does not make such a Physicalist view inevitable, it does make it

possible”

“Physico-chemical

workings of the central nervous system”-cause of thought

“Dispositions

are actual causes”

“Dispositions

as states, which is the view that is natural to science, is the

correct one”

“The

Behaviourists were wrong to identify the mind with behaviour”

“A

mental state as a state of the person apt for producing certain

ranges of behaviour”

“My

proposed Synthesis is that the mind is properly conceived as an

inner principle, but a principle that is identified in terms of the

outward behaviour it is apt for bringing about”

“Mental

states are in fact nothing but physical states of the central

nervous system”

“Although

Behaviourism may be a satisfactory account of the mind from an

other-person point of view, it will not do as a first person

account”

“Aware

of much more than mere behaviour”

“Consciousness,

in this sense of the word, is nothing but perception or awareness of

the state of our own mind”

“Consciousness

is a self-scanning mechanism in the central nervous system”

Armstrong