Philosophy of mind

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/philosophy-of-mind

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the historical dualist proponent?René Descartes, who argued for the distinctness of mind and body
2. What is the key related scientific fields?Neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, and computer science (especially AI)
3. Why do people talk about the mind-body problem?People talk about the mind-body problem because they want to know if the mind is separate from the body or just part of it.
4. How do scientists try to explain our thoughts and feelings?Scientists use neuroscience and physics to try to explain thoughts and feelings, and some think everything can be explained by the brain, while others think the mind has special qualities that can't be fully reduced.

Mind-Body Problem: The philosophical challenge of explaining how mental states and processes relate to physical states and processes.
Dualism: The metaphysical thesis that reality consists of two fundamentally different kinds of substance or property: mental and physical.
Physicalism: The ontological thesis that everything that exists is physical, or supervenes on the physical.
Consciousness: The state or quality of awareness, or of being aware of an external object or something within oneself.