ISSN 0031-8248
6 papers in the library · 126 citations · publishing 1960-2026
Philosophy of Science August 10, 2026 Carrie Figdor
Abstract This paper articulates how recent advances in comparative behavioral and biological research are changing the nature of the mind/body problem from a human mind/human body problem to a problem of conceptualizing and organizing diverse types of minds in a hierarchical relational structure that is non-contingently related to phylogeny. It also discusses the impact of this refinement on...
Philosophy of Science August 27, 2025 Niccolò Negro, Liad Mudrik 4 citations
Abstract Advances in animal sentience research, neural organoids, and artificial intelligence reinforce the relevance of justifying attributions of consciousness to nonstandard systems. Clarifying the argumentative structure behind these attributions is important for evaluating their validity. This article addresses this issue, concluding that analogical abduction—a form of reasoning combining...
Philosophy of Science December 1, 2000 Shaun Nichols, Todd Grantham
Arguments about the evolutionary function of phenomenal consciousness are beset by the problem of epiphenomenalism. For if it is not clear whether phenomenal consciousness has a causal role, then it is difficult to begin an argument for the evolutionary role of phenomenal consciousness. We argue that complexity arguments offer a way around this problem. According to evolutionary biology, the...
Philosophy of Science September 1, 1999 Alex Byrne, Ned Hall
In his book,The Conscious Mind, David Chalmers argues that his theory of consciousness can lend support to the Everett “no collapse” interpretation of quantum mechanics. We argue that Chalmers's argument fails, and that any Everett-style interpretation should be rejected.
Philosophy of Science June 1, 1996 David B Newman 118 citations
Recent work in the Philosophy of Mind has suggested that alternatives to reduction are required in order to explain the relationship between psychology and biology or physics. Emergence has been proposed as one such alternative. In this paper, I propose a precise definition of emergence, and I argue that chaotic systems provide concrete examples of properties that meet this definition. In...
Philosophy of Science October 1, 1960 Roy Wood Sellars 4 citations
I shall be concerned in this paper with the consideration of panpsychism and of materialism in new forms as alternatives. Extended reference will be made to C. S. Peirce's view of perception as realistic in intention and yet not quite clear as to its mechanism and how it attains objective import. I shall say little about Whitehead as a representative of panpsychism as I have just finished a...