Physicalism

• Physicalism is the belief that there is no soul
• Physicalism is a reductive philosophy
• Physicalism believes that everything can be explained and described in terms of matter
• Mental states are defined by their functional role, what they do rather than what they are made of
• Functionalism is the physicalist theory of the mind
• Functionalists discuss the mind/body problem instead of the body/soul problem
• Functionalism was developed from cognitive science
• Functionalism suggests the mind is an information processing system
• Multiple realisability

  Minds and mental states can run on a variety of platforms, including computers
• Functionalism


  • Does away with inventing 'mental substances' to explain the mind
  • Mental states consist of sensory inputs and behavioural outputs
  • Human minds can be seen as powerful biological computers