Logical behaviorism is the idea that the mind and all its psychological states are nothing more than the behaviors we associate with them. If this is true, the mind-body problem seems easy to solve, but can behaviors always match up with psychological states?
NOTES
- Logical Behaviorism
- Psychological states are not non-physical entities
- Psychological states are real
- Psychological states are just the behaviors we associate with them
- S1: we ascribe psychological states to others based on their behaviors
- Radical reduction
- Psychological states as we think of them don’t really exist
- Same as eliminitavism
- But we can use the vocabulary of psychological states to describe behaviors
- Different from eliminativism
- Psychological states as we think of them don’t really exist
- O1: psychological states cause behaviors
- “Debora looks like that because thinks her boyfriend is distracted.”
- Translation: “Debora looks like that because she looks like that.”
- O2: multiple psychological states assigned the same behavior
- Belief and desire are interconnected in a way that behavior can’t account for
- “Yutaro believes he sees is a pigeon.”
- ‘believes’ is a psychological state
- Translation: Yutaro is reaching out towards a flying animal
- You can believe this without reaching towards the flying animal
- Must add: “Yutaro is reaching out to touch the flying animal because he wants to touch a pigeon.”
- ‘want’ is a psychological state
- Translation: “Yutaro is reaching out towards a flying animal because Yutaro is reaching out towards a flying animal”
- O3: psychological states are not isomorphic with associated behaviors
- S1: multiple psychological states assigned to one behavior (belief-desire objection)
- S2: behavior w/o psychological states (super actors)
- S3: psychological states w/o behavior (super Spartans)
- O4: others would have better access to your psychological states than you would