4.1.1.3 Critiques of Dualism

• What is the most famous dualist theory called?

  Cartesian dualism
• Match the critique of dualism with its description:

  Interaction Problem ↔️ How can the non-physical mind interact with the physical body?

  Causal Closure of the Physical ↔️ All physical events have physical causes
• The Interaction Problem is a significant challenge for dualist theories.


  True
• Dualism lacks empirical evidence, while physicalism has support from neuroscience and cognitive psychology
• Dualism faces two key critiques.


  True
• Descartes could explain the mechanism of mind-body interaction through the pineal gland.

  False
• What empirical evidence supports the existence of a non-physical mind in dualism?

  None
• Why are materialist theories considered more parsimonious than dualist theories?

  No non-physical mind assumption
• Dualist theories propose that the mind and body are separate, distinct substances
• The Causal Closure of the Physical principle states that all physical events have physical causes
• Descartes could not explain the mechanism of mind-body interaction.
• What does the Causal Closure of the Physical principle imply about mental causation?

  Mental causation is impossible
• The most famous dualist theory is called Cartesian dualism.
• The Interaction Problem focuses on how the non-physical mind interacts with the physical body.
• The Causal Closure of the Physical principle supports dualism.

  False
• The Explanatory Gap refers to the difficulty in explaining how physical processes give rise to qualitative mental experiences.


  True
• The Interaction Problem in dualism asks how the non-physical mind can interact with the physical body.

  True
• Which part of the brain did Descartes propose as the interaction point between the mind and body?

  Pineal gland
• Match the alternative perspective on the Interaction Problem with its description:

  Occasionalism ↔️ God coordinates mental and physical events

  Parallelism ↔️ Mind and body run parallel without interaction

  Emergentism ↔️ Mental states emerge from brain states
• What is the most famous dualist theory called?

  Cartesian dualism
• What is the Interaction Problem in dualism?

  Non-physical mind interacts with physical body
• What does the principle of Causal Closure of the Physical state?

  Every physical event has a physical cause
• Physicalism has substantial empirical support from fields like neuroscience and cognitive psychology.