MOST PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THAT
DUALISM ISN'T GOING TO WORK.
OK.
NOW, IF YOU ABANDON
DUALISM, THAT IS,
THE IDEA THAT REALITY
DIVIDES INTO THESE TWO
REALMS, THE MENTAL
AND THE PHYSICAL,
THEN IT LOOKS LIKE YOU
GOT TO CHOOSE MONISM.
SEE, DESCARTES
COUNTED IT UP TO TWO,
AND EVERYBODY ELSE THINKS,
WELL, THAT'S WRONG.
LET'S ONLY COUNT UP TO ONE.
NOW, MY MESSAGE IS, DON'T START
COUNTING, BUT THAT COMES LATER.
OK, SO THEY COUNT UP TO ONE.
AND YOU CHOOSE UP SIDES.
ONE TEAM ARE THE IDEALISTS.
THEY THINK EVERYTHING'S
REALLY MENTAL.
THERE AREN'T MANY
OF THOSE GUYS LEFT.
OR THEY THINK EVERYTHING
IS MATERIAL, PHYSICAL.
AND THOSE ARE
CALLED MATERIALISTS.
BUT NOW THE QUESTION
IS, HOW DO YOU DO IT?
HOW DO YOU GIVE A MATERIALISTIC
COUNT OF PAIN, FOR EXAMPLE?
WELL, THE BEHAVIORISTS SAID
IT'S ALL JUST BEHAVIOR.
IT'S YOUR ACTUAL AND
POSSIBLE BEHAVIOR.
SO TO BE IN PAIN IS JUST TO CRY
OUT OR BE DISPOSED TO CRY OUT
OR WHATEVER.
IT'S A SILLY VIEW,
BUT YOU CAN SEE
HOW PEOPLE WOULD GET
DESPERATE, AND THEY'D SAY THAT.
OF IF I BELIEVE
IT'S GOING TO RAIN,
THEN MY BELIEF HAS TO BE
CONSTITUTED BY THE FACT
THAT I'LL CARRY AN
UMBRELLA, FOR EXAMPLE.
NOW, THERE ARE LOTS OF
PROBLEMS WITH BEHAVIORISM.
THE MOST OBVIOUS
PROBLEM IS IT JUST
SEEMS TO LEAVE OUT THE MIND.
I MEAN, AS SOMEBODY
ONCE SAID, IT
SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE
TO FEIGN ANESTHESIA.
YOU'VE GOT TO PRETEND
TO BE ANESTHETIZED
IF YOU'RE GOING TO
BE A BEHAVIORIST.
BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF TECHNICAL
DIFFICULTIES WITH IT AS WELL.
I MEAN, FOR EXAMPLE,
IF YOU SAY MY BELIEF
THAT IT'S GOING TO RAIN JUST
CONSISTS IN MY DISPOSITION
TO CARRY AN UMBRELLA, WELL,
THAT'LL ONLY WORK IF YOU THINK,
WELL, I DON'T WANT TO GET WET.
I'VE GOT TO HAVE A DESIRE.
SO NOW IT LOOKS LIKE IN
ORDER TO EXPLAIN BELIEF,
YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE DESIRE.
AND IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN DESIRE,
YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE BELIEF.
SO THEN CAME THE NEXT GREAT
PHASE, WHICH WAS TO SAY,
WELL, REALLY IT ISN'T BEHAVIOR.
IT'S JUST A STATE OF YOUR BRAIN.
THERE IS A PARTICULAR
STATE OF THE BRAIN WHICH
CONSTITUTES MY BELIEF
THAT IT'S GOING TO RAIN.
THAT VIEW IS CALLED PHYSICALISM.
OR IT SOMETIMES CALLED
THE IDENTITY THEORY
BECAUSE IT SAYS
EVERY MENTAL STATE IS
IDENTICAL WITH A PHYSICAL STATE.
BUT THAT SEEMS
PRETTY CRUDE AS WELL.
FOR ONE THING,
WHY WOULD YOU WANT
TO SAY THAT ONLY PEOPLE
WHO HAD BRAINS LIKE OURS
COULD TO HAVE OUR BELIEFS?
AND MAYBE MY BELIEF
THAT IT'S GOING TO RAIN
IS IN MY BRAIN IN
A DIFFERENT WAY
THAN THE WAY YOUR BELIEF
THAT IT'S GOING TO RAIN
IS IN YOUR BRAIN.
SO PEOPLE THOUGHT,
WELL, WE'VE GOT
TO HAVE A VIEW THAT'S
LESS CHAUVINISTIC.
MAYBE WE CAN MAKE
COMPUTERS THAT HAD BELIEFS.
AND THAT LED TO THE
THIRD GREAT DEVELOPMENT
HERE, WHICH WAS FUNCTIONALISM.
AND WE'RE NOW IN A KIND
OF PHASE OF FUNCTIONALISM.
MOST PHILOSOPHERS ACCEPT
SOME VERSION OF THAT.
AND THE IDEA WAS TO COMBINE
BEHAVIORISM AND THE IDENTITY
THEORY IN THE FOLLOWING WAY.
EVERY MENTAL STATE IS
A STATE OF THE BRAIN,
BUT IS DEFINED NOT IN TERMS OF
ITS PHYSICAL NEUROBIOLOGICAL
FEATURES, BUT IN
TERMS OF ITS FUNCTION,
IN TERMS OF ITS
CAUSAL RELATIONS.
SO MY BELIEF THAT
IT'S RAINING CONSISTS
IN ANY STATE OF MY BRAIN
WHICH TOGETHER WITH MY DESIRE
TO KEEP DRY-- THAT'S
ANOTHER STATE IN MY BRAIN--
WILL CAUSE ME TO
CARRY AN UMBRELLA.
AND THAT BELIEF IS CAUSED BY
SEEING CERTAIN THINGS, CAUSED
BY INPUT STIMULI.
AND TOGETHER WITH OTHER
FUNCTIONAL STATES,
IT CAUSES OUTPUT BEHAVIOR.
NOW, NO MENTION OF ANYTHING
MENTAL HERE, OR RATHER,
NO MENTION ANY CARTESIAN-TYPE
MENTAL ELEMENTS.
IT'S JUST ALL CAUSAL RELATIONS.
NOW, THAT'S THE
STATE WE'RE IN NOW.
AND THEN THAT
NATURALLY DEVELOPED.
PEOPLE WANT TO ASK, WELL, WHAT
ARE THESE FUNCTIONAL STATES?
AND THE NATURAL ANSWER IS,
THEY'RE STATES OF A COMPUTER.
THE BRAIN IS REALLY
A DIGITAL COMPUTER,
AND THE MIND IS JUST
THE COMPUTER PROGRAM.
AND THAT VIEW IS WIDESPREAD.
I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH
THIS RATHER RAPIDLY,
BUT THE BASIC IDEA IS YOU
START WITH BEHAVIORISM.
THAT DOESN'T WORK.
YOU START WITH IDENTITY
THEORY, PHYSICALISM.
THAT DOESN'T WORK EITHER.
BUT IF YOU COMBINE THE TWO
INTO THE FUNCTIONALISM,
WHERE YOU SAY,
WELL, MENTAL STATE
IS JUST A FUNCTIONAL
STATE, HAPPENS
TO BE REALIZED IN BRAINS
BUT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE,
LIKE COMPUTERS, AND
IT'S DEFINED IN TERMS
OF ITS SEQUENCE OF
CAUSAL RELATIONS,
THEN THE NEXT STEP IS
TO SAY, WELL, TELL US
MORE ABOUT THE
FUNCTIONAL STATES.
AND WE'VE GOT THE PERFECT MODEL.
THEY ARE INFORMATION PROCESSING
STATES OF A COMPUTER.
AND THAT'S A VIEW THAT A
LOT OF PEOPLE HOLD TODAY,
THAT THE BRAIN IS
A DIGITAL COMPUTER
AND THE MIND IS JUST
A COMPUTER PROGRAM.
