Functionalism According To Fod

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

Both mental states and objects are a certain collection of perceptions that together identify the particular state or object.
Fodor develops the idea of functionalism by combining certain parts of logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory. From logical behaviorism, Fodor incorporates the idea that mental processes can be represented by physical if-then statements. As such, behavior and mental causation are no longer distinct and unable to interact. Also, logical behaviorism provides a way for mental causes to interact with other mental causes. This, in turn, may result in a behavioral effect. The last point is also a characteristic of the central-state identity theory. One doctrine of the central-state identity theory is called "token physicalism." Token physicalism states that all mental states that currently exist are neurophysiological. Thus, token physicalism does not place physical restrictions on the type of substance capable of having mental ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

because the output is the result of interaction between the input and the current state of the system. The metaphor also demonstrates the insignificance 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 the system. To support this, he develops the Chinese room argument. Suppose a computer program is written that simulates an understanding of Chinese. Thus, when the computer is presented with a question in Chinese, it ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: