Re: The Identity Theory of Mind

From: ZZBunker (zzbunker_at_netscape.net)
Date: 09/23/04 

Date: 23 Sep 2004 15:17:25 -0700

lesterDELzick@worldnet.att.net (Lester Zick) wrote in message news:<4151cbee.32163082@netnews.att.net>...
> On Wed, 22 Sep 2004 11:33:30 -0500, Paul Bramscher
> <brams006_nospam@tc.umn.edu> in comp.ai.philosophy wrote:
>
> >Wolf Kirchmeir wrote:
> >
> >> Paul Bramscher wrote:
> >>
> >>> The Sophist wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Paul Bramscher wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>> Since most philosophical theories of the mind appear to be
> >>>>> astoundingly inbred (relatively small number of constantly
> >>>>> referenced writers, and all Western/white/academic), there are some
> >>>>> important missing critiques to the identity theory:
> >>
> >> [...]
> >>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Apparently you have not actually read extensively from the literature
> >>>> you denigrate. Certainly Parfit is aware of these issues, and the
> >>>> Churchlands show more than a bit of sensitivity to them.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Literature doesn't solve this problem. One should take a theory and
> >>> point it toward empirical evidence. Don't just point toward a theory
> >>> or piece of literature as an ends to itself.
> >>
> >>
> >> Ah, but for philosophers, the literature is the important thing.
> >
> >Which is odd, since the great philosophers the followers constantly like
> >to reference are -- themselves -- the counter-examples! At some point
> >they left the library, set aside a book, and engineered their own
> >theories -- for better or worse.
> >
> >I'm not anti-literature (in fact I'm currently sitting in a large
> >research library in North America). It's just that you need to set it
> >aside at some point and budget your time. I'm more allied to the art of
> >design & building, rather than deconstructing or analyzing as an ends to
> >itself. The best sources of my own inspiration are other builders and
> >engineers, not analysts and intellectual forensics specialists. :-)
>
> How does one engineer the right without deconstructing the wrong? Why
> do you think theories of the mind are so inbred and keep coming up
> with the same tired nonsense?

  It's most likely that Philosophers prefer science-fiction
  to science, and scientists prefer treatises
  on Lepto-Quark positivism to thinking, Politicians
  prefer photo-ops with Bill Gates to engineering,
  and Literaturists prefer 4000 year-old decaying
  religous slums to minds.

 

>
> Regards - Lester

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