Mental States Of The Mind Body Problem - 1725 Words

Mental states of the Mind-body problem Abstract: The mind-body problem is a highly debated topic in philosophy, and has resulted in the creation of many theories attempting to answer it. Applying the mind-body problem to a situation where a patient lacks a normal brain but appears completely normal questions the mental states that the patient has. Looking at the views based on different theories that five doctors express, the things that stand out to me are multiple realizability, Token Identity theory and functionalism. Because of these, I argue that the patient possess the usual range of mental states. Body: The study of how the mind and body interact with each other has been a concern of many areas of study. This leads to the†¦show more content†¦I believe this as I feel that mental states can be multiple realizable. An instance of someone’s mental states are identical to instances of physical states, so some of these states may be realized through different connections in the brain oppose to the normal connections. Because of this, I conclude that Token Identity theory, physicalism, and multiple realizability are equivalent to a view of functionalism. And thus, I would tend to agree with the conclusions of Doctor 3 which appears to take a non-explicit view of functionalism. In this scenario, the doctors debate about the amount of mental states that the patient has. Since it is stated that the patient lacks a normal brain but appears completely normal, this leads me to believe that the patient possesses the usual range of mental states. If others were to observe the patient to determine if they possess all sensations and qualia that a normal brain could experience, then if the patient did, they would appear to be normal. This is the case in the given scenario, so the patient must have the usual range of mental states in order to realize all of sensations and qualia a normal brain would, which allows them to be classified as normal. Hence this is why I believe that the patient has the usual range of mental states. Further to argue for this, according to the theories, a functionalist view makes this possible which is why I