Abstract How do we know about other people’s minds? The most plausible answer is that hypotheses about others’ mental states figure in the best explanations for other people’s behavior. This answer clashes with prominent views in philosophy of mind, including epiphenomenalism, the mind/brain identity theory, and functionalism. Partisans of those views hold that the ascription of mental states...
Non-reductive functionalism holds that qualia are distinct, non-physical properties that are caused by functional properties. This view violates the plausible principles that (i) mere dispositional properties lack independent causal relevance, and (ii) convention-dependent properties lack causal relevance. David Chalmers’ main arguments for the view rest on his dancing qualia and fading qualia...