Philosophy Token vs. Dualism or New Theory - Essay Example

In recognition of the mental states in relation to the brain, the Token Theory of mind upholds the analogy of realizations and supposes that the individual thought is identical with the individual brain state in which it corresponds. This philosophy reasoned that if mental states is a cacophony of thought processes then most likely it is identical to the internal state of the brain. In simplified terms; it is interaction of mind and body and the interaction of physical processes in the brain and parts of the body via the nervous system and there is nothing more than physical in the way it functions.

Smart (1956) said that the mental state's 'desire for a cup of coffee' would thus be nothing more than the "firing of certain neurons in certain brain regions". The mental phenomenon is then equated with the processes of the brain and is actually considered as the fundamental features of the brain. A heavy challenge under this theory would fall under the category of need. The explanation seems to relay the idea that humans regardless of affiliation feel hunger and hunger is identical to a certain brain state.

Each mental state is said to be identical to an individual brain state without any categorization. . Dualism meanwhile is a complex model that divides the human beings into two substances of matter and mind and separates the mind from the body. In Plato and Aristotle both maintained, for different reasons, "that a man's 'intelligence' (as a faculty of the mind or soul) could not be identified with, or explained in terms of his physical body". In a non-physical form, dualism exists to identify the mind as the control factor in movements along with other components.

Dualism however explains the property of the physical (skin, bones and the entire system of the human body) in response to the mental (thoughts and feelings). For example, in simple dualism: a needle puncturing your finger is a physical trauma and causes you to perceive pain; as a physical response one either withdraws the hand or voice out a verbal reaction to pain. In other words there is direct physical interaction between the mind and the body. In more complex dualistic setting and explanation: when one sees a car, the input is placed on the senses and sends out signals through the senses which interpret the experience in the brain whereby a mental image is produced.

Scientifically this could be acceptable, but the simplest is always the best answer when trying to find the most natural relation to a human's mind.Despite a certain initial clarity, the token identity theory is still faced with a heavy challenge in the form of the Putnam's(1967) multiple realizations. If this is a difference however, then pain cannot be identical to a certain brain state and thus the identity theory is empirically unfounded for her. It dwells on the neurological aspect of the mind and the