We show that theories of qualia based upon “property dualism” (sometimes called “natural dualism” and “dual aspect theories”) lead to a form of epiphenomenalism, the situation where our behavior does not causally flow from our subjective experiences. That would mean that our claims, beliefs, and memories about our subjective experiences do not directly arise from our real subjective experiences...

Paul Churchland argues that Frank Jackson’s Knowledge Argument against physicalism is so strong that if it defeated physicalism it would, at the same time, defeat ‘substance dualism’. The purpose of this paper is to articulate this ‘parity of reasons’ objection. In the first part of the paper, I discuss Churchland’s argument. I demonstrate that although his formulation of the objection is not w...

Firing another salvo in the on-going monism-dualism debate, Joel B. Green in his new book Body, Soul, and Human Life, presents his ontological monism, a rebuttal against anthropological dualism in general and against the holistic dualism in Body, Soul, and Everlasting Life by John W. Cooper in particular. Green’s anthropological monism, which “coheres well with Nancey Murphy’s argument . . . an...

Property dualism and the merits of solutions to the mind-body problem: a reply to Strawson. Property Dualism and the Merits of Solutions to the Mind-Body Problem A Reply to Strawson

We review results which have been obtained in the last few years on the topic whether various measures of physical interest, deened on lattice systems, have the Gibbs property or not. Most of the measures we consider occur either within renormalization-group theory or within models of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. In renormalization-group theory examples we discuss in particular the un...

We examined lay people's conceptions about the relationship between mind and body and their correlates. In Study 1, a web survey (N = 850) of reflective dualistic, emergentistic, and monistic perceptions of the mind-body relationship, afterlife beliefs (i.e., common sense dualism), religiosity, paranormal beliefs, and ontological confusions about physical, biological, and psychological phenomen...

The problem of consciousness should eventually receive a scientific solution, but there are a number of scientific and philosophical obstacles along the way. I offer solutions to the philosophical problems and proposals for approaching the scientific problems.