Fodors Functionalism Essay - 1314 Words

Fodors Functionalism Fodor begins his article on the mind-body problem with a review of the current theories of dualism and materialism. According to dualism, the mind and body are two separate entities with the body being physical and the mind being nonphysical. If this is the case, though, then there can be no interaction between the two. The mind could not influence anything physical without violating the laws of physics. The materialist theory, on the other hand, states that the mind is not distinct from the physical. In fact, supporters of the materialist theory believe that behavior does not have mental causes. When the materialist theory is split into logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory, the foundation of†¦show more content†¦Functionalism also states that the output of the system is related to both the input and the internal status of the system at a given time. Based on the definition of functionalism, the mental processes of a human are not distinct from the systemic processes of a machine. Mental processes are defined as an operation on symbols to yield certain results. Thus, if the same symbols yielded the same results in two separate systems, then the mental states can be seen as similar, or even identical. Along this vein, consider a computer programmed with the same reasoning process as a mind. When the input B is entered, the output depends both upon B and upon the state of the system resulting from the computation of A. If the computer was programmed with the exact same reasoning process as a mind, then the result would be the same. Thus, the mental state of the mind would be indistinguishable from the systemic state of the computer. The computer metaphor upholds the theory of functionalism because the output is the result of interaction between the input and the current state of the system. The metaphor also demonstrates the i nsignificance of the physical state of the system when determining whether two mental states are alike. Thus, it shows that the processes, rather than the composition, of the system determine the mental state. Searle disagrees with the view that the physical composition of the system does not influence the mental state of theShow MoreRelatedFunctionalism And The Inverted Spectrum1545 Words   |  7 Pagesimportant challenge to functionalist accounts of qualia. Functionalism is committed to defining mental states in terms of their cause and effects . By identifying sensory events with casual roles, however, functionalism appears to be missing qualitative aspects all together. The topic of spectrum inversion has often been raised as a contradiction to functionalism, as well as other materialist theories about consciousness. These negates to functionalism show that even when all the relevant physical facts