Philosophy of Mind by Kim Jaegwon

Author:Kim, Jaegwon [Jaegwon, Kim,]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9780813345208
Publisher: Westview Press
Published: 2010-12-28T05:00:00+00:00

Functional Properties, Disjunctive Properties, and Causal Powers

The functionalist claim is often expressed by assertions like “Mental states are causal roles” and “Mental properties (kinds) are functional properties (kinds).” We should get clear about the logic and ontology of such claims. The concept of a functional property and related concepts were introduced in the preceding chapter, but let us briefly review them before we go on with some difficulties and puzzles for functionalism. Begin with the example of pain: For something, S, to be in pain (that is, for S to have, or instantiate, the property of being in pain) is, according to functionalism, for S to be in some state (or to instantiate some property) with causal connections to appropriate inputs (for example, tissue damage, trauma) and outputs (pain behavior). For simplicity, let us talk uniformly in terms of properties rather than states. We may then say: The property of being in pain is the property of having some property with a certain causal specification, in terms of its causal relations to certain inputs and outputs. Thus, in general, we have the following canonical expression for all mental properties: Mental property M is the property of having a property with causal specification H.

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