The mind-body problem.

The mind-body problem asks how mental events relate to physical states and processes. Proposed solutions differ on whether they endorse physicalism—the view that mental states are nothing over and above physical states—and on how they understand mental-physical interaction. Physicalist solutions have dominated the last century, with the variety of physicalism (reductive or nonreductive) depending on both philosophical arguments and developments in cognitive and neural science. This article examines the prospects for a solution to the mind-body problem in light of developments in the cognitive sciences, especially the scientific study of consciousness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The mind-body problem is the problem of explaining how the happenings of our mental lives are related to physical states, events and processes. Proposed solutions to the problem vary by whether and how they endorse physicalism, the claim that mental states are ultimately "nothing over and above" physical states, and by how they understand the interactions between mental and physical states. Physicalist solutions to the mind-body problem have been dominant in the last century, with the variety of physicalism endorsed (reductive or nonreductive) depending upon both the outcome of philosophical arguments and methodological developments in the cognitive and neural sciences. After outlining the dominant contemporary approach to the mind-body problem, I examine the prospects for a solution in light of developments in the cognitive sciences, especially the scientific study of consciousness. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Consciousness Philosophy > Metaphysics Philosophy > Foundations of Cognitive Science.