Discuss at least two theories which hold that a mental state is Essay

Discuss at least two theories which hold that a mental state is nothing more than some sort of physical state - Essay Example There are two important movements that provide an answer to these questions, i.e. behaviorism and identity theory. It is in my contention that despite the enigma of the human mind, behaviorism and the identity theory, both attempt to offer a rational explanation for the nature and identity of mental phenomena. Behaviorism Behaviorism is generally regarded as the view that reduces mental states to the physical states of the body, specifically to that of the body’s behaviors. Thus, â€Å"behaviorists have argued that mental states and processes are really nothing more than behavior or dispositions† (Heil, 1993, p.174). A behavior is understood here as an external physical movement of the body, and thus includes verbal behavior, but excludes brain activities. Moreover, behavior is either actual or dispositional. Accordingly, all mental states are believed to be behavioral dispositions, which may or may not be actualized. As such, even if there is no actual behavior that co rresponds to a mental expression, the claim of behaviorism holds because it necessarily has a corresponding behavioral disposition. So to have a mental state is thus to behave or to be disposed to behave in a certain way. For instance, to be in pain is to exhibit behaviors such as crying, wincing, saying â€Å"ouch,† etc. ... Expressions containing mental terms such as â€Å"I desire to finish school†, â€Å"I am in pain†, and â€Å"I believe that it is going to rain,† are accordingly, logically equivalent to, or reducible to some expressions containing only behavioral terms such as â€Å"I will attend my classes regularly,† â€Å"I am inclined to cry,† and â€Å"I will bring my umbrella when I get out of the house.† In short, in this view, mental terms are defined in terms of behaviors. It is this notion of behaviorism that will be of concern to us. Logical behaviorism is often attributed to the view of the mind that Gilbert Ryle (1965) advanced as an alternative to Cartesian dualism, which he refers to as the ghost-in-the machine doctrine. Ryle argues that this doctrine commits a fallacy called the category mistake, i.e. when one wrongly takes something as belonging to a certain category that it does not belong to. The famous example given by Ryle is when someon e understands the word â€Å"university† as referring to a particular entity in the very same way that the words â€Å"buildings†, â€Å"members of the faculty†, â€Å"students†, and the like, refer to particular entities. In the same way, so argues Ryle, Descartes mistakes the word â€Å"mind† as belonging to the same category as the word â€Å"body†, and hence believes that the word â€Å"mind† refers to an entity of some kind in the same way that the word â€Å"body† does. Though â€Å"mind† and â€Å"body† refer to different kinds of entities, the fact that they do refer to entities puts them in the same category. Logical behaviorism, as noted above, is the view that mental states are nothing but behaviors. This view lends itself to two

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 49

Case Study Example pain medicine, the appropriate disciplinary action such as repayment is necessary but this does not come without a warning letter that would see stringent measures including summary dismissal in the event of recurrence of the incidence. However, any nurse who misappropriates any medical paraphernalia ought to pay back the full amount, which may be deducted from her salary. Meanwhile, the patient ought to obtain other drugs since they are not responsible for any kind of incompetence by the nursing home staff. In any given health institution, the Department of pulmonary Medicine is undoubtedly one of the busiest departments. Due to the critical nature of this section, the entire physician fraternity needs to be ready to tackle any challenge even at odd times. Since operations in this situation extend to the ICU and ER, any shortage of respiratory therapist deserves critical attention. When investigating this kind of shortage within limited time like 48 hours, the key information that a hospital administrator looks for is what led to the shortage, data regarding the available and required respiratory therapist, and the immediate step that can ease the situation. Since the respiratory therapists perform a significant role both in the ICU and at the ER, this kind of intelligent information will be necessary before the crucial meeting with physicians. Misdiagnosis and maybe the administering of wrong drugs may have severe repercussion to a medical practitioner especially if proven that the any mishap resulted out of sheer negligence or incompetence. As the administrator on weekend call, I would determine whether Dr. White administered the wrong drugs out of incompetence or otherwise. Perhaps my next decision would be informed by the information as to whether Dr. White refused to address the concerns of the RN, May Patterson. If Dr. White, out of sheer arrogance, dismissed May’s concerns, then I would together with other managerial staff at the hospital institute a