Reality Without Reification: Philosophy of Chemistry’s Contribution to Philosophy of Mind
Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry July 28, 2016 Marina Paola Banchetti-Robino, Jean-Pierre Noël Llored
The author argues that philosophy of chemistry can inform philosophy of mind, particularly regarding the hard problem of consciousness. Both fields grapple with reduction and emergence: chemistry's relation to microphysics parallels the mind-brain relationship. Joseph E. Earley proposes three ways chemistry can help: developing an extended mereology for chemical combinations that might apply to brain-mental state part-whole relations; testing whether chemical singularities prevent reduction to microphysics, which would suggest mental singularities also block reduction of mental states to brain states; and addressing downward causation, where higher-level phenomena influence lower levels. The paper contends these cross-disciplinary insights could advance solutions to seemingly intractable problems in philosophy of mind.