نوع المستند : مقالة علمية
عنوان المقالة English
المؤلف English
The identity theory is one of the most prominent materialist positions in the philosophy of mind. It holds that mental states are nothing other than brain and neural states, and that what we ordinarily describe as mental states can ultimately be reduced to physical processes occurring in the brain. In defending this reductive account, the theory appeals both to the principle of Occam's razor and to the achievements of the empirical sciences, particularly neuroscience. The identity theory, however, has faced a number of serious objections and challenges. Some Western philosophers and researchers have advanced the concept of multiple realizability as a fundamental challenge to the claim that mental states are identical with particular brain states. David Chalmers, meanwhile, has mounted an influential critique of reductionism by drawing attention to the problem of qualia, or phenomenal experience, and the broader problem of consciousness. He formulated what has come to be known as the “hard problem of consciousness,” which centers on a fundamental question: how can the physical and neural processes occurring in the brain give rise to conscious experience with its subjective character? Chalmers argues that however precise physical explanations may become, they cannot by themselves account for the nature of conscious experience and subjective awareness, nor adequately explain why such experiences exist or how they arise. Avicenna, for his part, advanced a number of arguments against identifying the human soul with the brain. These arguments draw, among other things, on the intentionality of mental states and on his conception of the soul as a unifying principle that connects and integrates the various faculties. Employing a rational-analytical method, this article examines and analyzes the arguments of David Chalmers and Avicenna in the context of the critique of identity theory, while also highlighting the points of convergence and divergence between their respective approaches.
الكلمات المفتاحية English
