PHL 406: Difference Between Behaviorism And Functionalism
Jesse Flickinger
PHL 406
First Exam
What is the difference between behaviorism and functionalism? Give an argument based on Putnam for favoring functionalism over behaviorism.
The central difference between behaviorism and functionalism is that for behaviorism, mental states are behaviors while for functionalism mental states are functional roles. In behaviorism, all talk about minds and mental states is nothing more than talk about observable behaviors and dispositions. Talk about mental events is translatable into talk about behavior where pain is seen as a construct/display of a set of behaviors. For functionalism, mental states can be determined by causal roles to the senses, other mental states, and behaviors. Functionalism also allows …show more content…
Lewis’ theory works with mad pain because C-fibers still fire but it comes about from a different causal role in that population. He’s still in pain because he’s in the right material state for what we call pain, C-fibers firing, but he’s also in the state that occupies that role of pain for his population.
A similar case happens when concerning Martian pain. Instead of C-fibers, the Martian experiences pain through inflammation of fluids. But the same state can occupy a causal role for a population in Lewis’ theory, making his pain work as well. It then becomes irrelevant whether his material is C-fibers or fluid so long as the causal role is the same for his entire population in experiencing pain.
There can be no such thing as a world where the only being is a single mad Martian because the material state and causal role conflict in a way that is impossible and doesn’t fit any population. If this person existed and experienced pain, his pain would defy the framework established by Lewis’ theory of the causal role being similar/identical. If there’s no relevant population for which his causal role of pain exists, then its false to suppose he’s in pain or impossible to even be in pain because of how its causal role
PHL 406
First Exam
What is the difference between behaviorism and functionalism? Give an argument based on Putnam for favoring functionalism over behaviorism.
The central difference between behaviorism and functionalism is that for behaviorism, mental states are behaviors while for functionalism mental states are functional roles. In behaviorism, all talk about minds and mental states is nothing more than talk about observable behaviors and dispositions. Talk about mental events is translatable into talk about behavior where pain is seen as a construct/display of a set of behaviors. For functionalism, mental states can be determined by causal roles to the senses, other mental states, and behaviors. Functionalism also allows …show more content…
Lewis’ theory works with mad pain because C-fibers still fire but it comes about from a different causal role in that population. He’s still in pain because he’s in the right material state for what we call pain, C-fibers firing, but he’s also in the state that occupies that role of pain for his population.
A similar case happens when concerning Martian pain. Instead of C-fibers, the Martian experiences pain through inflammation of fluids. But the same state can occupy a causal role for a population in Lewis’ theory, making his pain work as well. It then becomes irrelevant whether his material is C-fibers or fluid so long as the causal role is the same for his entire population in experiencing pain.
There can be no such thing as a world where the only being is a single mad Martian because the material state and causal role conflict in a way that is impossible and doesn’t fit any population. If this person existed and experienced pain, his pain would defy the framework established by Lewis’ theory of the causal role being similar/identical. If there’s no relevant population for which his causal role of pain exists, then its false to suppose he’s in pain or impossible to even be in pain because of how its causal role