What Is Philosophy Of Mind? Definition, History And Applications

The Philosophy of Mind is one of the forms that the problem of the mind-body relationship has taken In other words, it is one of the areas of study of philosophy that is responsible for studying the relationship between mental processes and the body (the brain specifically), and therefore, the link between the mind and behavior.

Under this area are grouped a set of works that add different proposals to the question of what is the mind?, which has led them to also reflect on the relationship that exists between mental processes and the processes that occur within the brain.

Origins and object of study of the Philosophy of Mind

The concepts studied by the Philosophy of Mind have been essential for modern philosophy and have many of their antecedents in classical philosophy; however, it is from the second half of the 20th century that they have gained fundamental importance, especially from of the rise of cognitive sciences and computer sciences.

Since the first half of the 20th century, the Philosophy of Mind appeared as a specialized branch within the same philosophy, whose content was especially around “the mental” (perception, intentions, representations). At that time “the mind” was already a fairly widespread and naturalized concept, even in the language of everyday life.

To give an example, thanks to this extension, many practices could be legitimized and developed, ranging from the development of research, theories and cognitive therapies, to the development of alternative practices that used the concept of “mind” and its contents, to also develop theories and ways of intervening on this mind.

But it happened that, in the middle of the 20th century, the problem of studying the Philosophy of Mind became more acute, because cognitive psychology and computer science had a parallel boom, especially related to the development of artificial intelligence systems, and also because of advances in neuroscience.

Even some questions about whether animals have minds or not, and whether computers have minds or not were added to the discussion Without losing validity or legitimacy, “the mind” and its processes (perceptions, sensations, desires, intentions, etc.) ceased to be a precise term and became rather a vague concept that was worth discussing.

Finally, after the 1980s, a time in which neuroscience reached an even greater peak, along with computing systems that became increasingly sophisticated and promised to imitate the set of neural networks of the human brain; Philosophy of Mind became an area of ​​study with special relevance. With this, the sciences of the 21st century begin with a new object of study at the center: the brain.

The mind or the brain?

As we have seen, the discussion about what constitutes us as human beings, and about concepts related to this, such as decision, intentions, reason, responsibility, freedom, will, among others, have been the subject of philosophical discussion for a long time.

Multiple questions naturally arise from the previous question, which have to do with the intentional content of our mental states, beliefs or desires. In turn, it is derived from this how these mental states are included, or not, in our behavior and actions.

For example, What determines our actions? It is one of the key questions for the Philosophy of Mind, and different answers have come from there. On the one hand, it may be that actions are caused by people’s individual intentions, which reduces them to being a consequence of a mental state, which also means that there are physical processes that cannot be explained by physical or natural laws. , therefore, these physical processes would have to be dismissed.

Or, it may be that actions are caused and determined simply by a set of physical processes, therefore, everything that has to do with “the mental” can be explained through physical laws that are not modified by the intentions, but by physical-chemical laws such as those suggested by neuroscience.

As we can see, the answers to these questions vary according to the position adopted by each author and each reader, so we could hardly speak of a single answer, but rather of different versions that can be useful to think and act on some things, and not for others.

From cognitive sciences to neurosciences?

Consequently, the Philosophy of Mind, and more specifically the cognitive sciences, have become a set of interdisciplinary theoretical approaches. In fact, recently the very concept of Philosophy of Mind has begun to transform into that of Neurophilosophy, or Philosophy of Neurosciences, where some of the most traditional concepts of cognitive psychology have begun to be absorbed, such as cognitive processes or conscience, for study.

As expected, The above has had an impact not only on the theoretical development of the sciences of cognition and behavior but it has even influenced discussions that have to do with bioethics, and without going that far we can see its influence in the current trend of using the prefix “neuro” to legitimize, and even make marketable, a series of practices that range from business marketing to interventions in psychological crises.