Materialism

D1: x is a physical object =df. x is extended in space and time, and x has mass.
 
D2: x is a mind =df. x is a spatially unextended thinking substance.
 
D3: F is a physical property =df. necessarily, if something, x, has F, then x is a physical object.
 
D4: F is a mental property =df. necessarily, if something, x, has F, then x is conscious.

• Be able to give examples of physical as well as mental properties. It might prove helpful to take a look at pages 137-140 in Ultimate Questions. (Recall, however, that the author of Ultimate Questions is not using the term 'mind' in the same way that I do.)

 A Typical Form of Materialism (TM)
 
A. Each person is just a physical object (his/her own body).
B. There are no minds.
C. Each person (that is, each properly functioning human body) has mental as well as physical properties.
 

Be able to state the two motivating factors for TM that we discussed in class.

Other Forms of Materialism:
 
Eliminative Materialism: A + B + each person has physical properties, but nothing has a mental property.
 
Identity Theory: A + B + C + every mental property is identical to some physical property.
 
Supervenience Theory: A + B + C + every mental property is causally dependent upon some combination of physical properties.

 
Argument from Mindful Sentences

• Fred made up his mind.
• I changed my mind about canceling class next Monday.
• Stephen Hawking has a wretched, horrible body but such a beautiful mind.
• That philosophy class just blew my mind.

1. Some mindful sentences are true.
2. If some mindful sentences are true, then there are minds.
3. If there are minds, then TM is false
4. Therefore, TM is false. [1,2,3 MMP]

• Be able to explain the argument. Be able to define all of the relevant technical terms. And be able to provide a rationale for each premise--a reason, example, or sub-argument illustrating why a defender of the argument would believe each premise to be true. What's the rationale for premise (1)? Premise (2)?
• Be able to evaluate the argument. Also be able to provide a Typical Materialist's evaluation of the argument. Which premise or premises would a Typical Materialist reject? Understand the "paraphrasing strategy". Be able to provide paraphrases of the "mindful" sentences above that the Typical Materialist would find metaphysically acceptable.

Argument from Consciousness (Both Versions: 1 and 2)

1. I am conscious.
2. If (1), then I have a mind.
3. If I have a mind, then TM is false.
4. Therefore, TM is false. [1,2,3 MMP]

• Bolster your rationale for premise (1) with the insights Descartes presents in the third paragraph of his second meditation.
• Construct a rationale for premise (2) from the following passage and its implications:

  “Sometimes I think deeply about the meaning of life; I dream about the future, or I feel moved by a poem. I am aware of the world around me, and I sense how it affects my “inner self”. I have direct personal experience of my own consciousness. And if I have experience of my own consciousness, then I have experience of my own mind. If I have experience of my mind, then I need look no further than my own “inner self” to find an objection to Typical Materialism.”

  Another version of this rationale for premise (2):

  "If I have direct experience of my own consciousness, i.e., my own thoughts and feelings, then what could this experience of an “inner self” be but direct experience of my mind? When I have a direct experience of something like a chair or a table, this experience tells me that the chair or the table exists. Similarly, if I have experience of my mind, this experience tells me that my mind exists."

• To which premise does Hume object? What is Hume's objection to the argument? Try to figure this out from the handout containing a selection from Hume's A Treatise on Human Nature.