In This Selection Churchland Examines Functionalism and the Two Prominent

question 11

True/False

In this selection Churchland examines functionalism and the two prominent versions of materialism in philosophy of mind. Reductivism claims that there is an identity of mental states with brain states. Functionalism rejects any one-to-one correlation between mental types and physical types and concentrates on the relationship between inputs and outputs. For example, the mental event of pain could be similar in two beings that have altogether different types of bodies and brains. Most functionalists are materialists, but someone could be a functionalist and be a nonmaterialist. Eliminative materialism is more radical than either of these other theories and seeks to eliminate "folk psychology"-talk of beliefs, feelings, and perceptions-in favor of more scientific descriptions of what is going on in the brain. Churchland concludes that the truth may be a combination of the two materialist theories, although the evidence points more in the direction of eliminativism.
-Smart says that sensations are independent of brain processes.

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Definitions:

Norepinephrine

A neurotransmitter involved in arousal and the regulation of blood pressure, mood, and sleep cycles.

Tremors

Involuntary, rhythmic muscle contractions leading to shaking movements in one or more parts of the body.

Rigidity

The quality of being inflexible or unable to change; in psychology, it refers to an individual's resistance to change their thoughts or behaviors.

Parkinson's Disease

A neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremors, stiffness, and slow movement, resulting from the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells.