Using Material From Smart And Armstrong - 1378 Words

In order to answer this question on an ad hoc basis I will attempt first, explain what â€Å"Mental states are identical to physical brain states† means in philosophical context. Second, I will explain the motivations of the type-identity thesis (Occam s Razor, and explanation of the casual efficiency of mental states) using material from Smart and Armstrong. Third, I will go onto examining type-identity thesis merits (how it solves Descartes problem of mind and body and how it allows us to derive the casual role of mental phenomena) and drawbacks (violation of Leibniz s Law and Multiple Realizability Argument). The type-identity thesis holds that mental processes are brain processes. Therefore, from that we can identify sensations and†¦show more content†¦J.J.C. Smart applied the Identity Theory in avail to challenge behaviourists view (notably regarding sensations). Let us take an example when Smart claims to be in pain (which is similar example in seeing a yellow-orange after-image). When he says â€Å"I am in pain†, he is not genuinely reporting it, nor does he claim to report something â€Å"irreducibly physical† (Smart, Sensations and Brain Processes, page 142). Conspicuously, Smart finds behaviourism simply inadequate. He believes that one is doing something more than just reporting to be in pain (or seeing an after-image) â€Å"The verbal expression of pain replaces crying and does not describe it.† (Smart, page 141). Moreover, he claims that this something more, which comes from being in pain is not just an act of distress â€Å"I think that he is in pain entails he is in distress † (Smart, page 141). Therefore, the interconnectedness between pain and distress is just a certain agitation-condition (Ryle, Concept of Mind, NewYork, 1949, page 93). As well as behaviourism, Smart also resists dualism. His reasons for resisting dualism are motivated through Occam s Razor. Smart holds that pains, our sensations and other conscious states can be explained by the physical sciences â€Å"It seems to me that science is increasingly giving us a viewpoint whereby organisms are able to be seen as physico-chemical mechanisms.† (Smart