Theories of identity and strategic essentialism, eduardo barrera suggested essentialist identities are theoretically dead and nonessentialist identities are exhausted. Is functionalism a typeidentity theory or a tokenidentity. The token identity theory defended by kim 1966 and davidson 1980 among others maintains that every token mental event is some token physical event or other, but it denies that a type matchup must be expected. A token is a particular event that happens at a particular time for a particular individual. A telegram love and love and love contains only two type words but in another sense, as the telegraph clerk would insist, it contains five words token words. What reasons are there to reject the former type of theory in favor of the latter.
Type identity theory says that mental states that one experiences can be grouped. The past, present, and future of an identity theory. This theory believes that any given mental state will be identical to a brain state k. One version of reductive physicalism is type physicalism or mindbody identity theory. The couch in my lounge room is a token of the type couch.
In each case, we have an opposition between identity theories and dualist theories along with, perhaps, some intermediate positions. Self theories dweck carol dweck currently at indiana university describes a series of empiricallybased studies that investigate how people develop beliefs about themselves i. Identity theory is a family of views on the relationship between mind and body. Even one person can have multiple pain states equal to different mental states. Pain2physical state2 each individual instance, or token, of pain is identical to some token physical state. Identity theory of what was called token token identity theory. I assume youre referring to identity theory in philosophy of mind, so ill answer it in that framework. Token identity theory is the theory that with the same stimulus, you will have the same response each and every time. How a typetype identity theorist can be a nonreductionist. Reductive physicalism is the view that mental states are both nothing over and above physical states and reducible to physical states. Introduction t he psychophysical identity theory is the hypothesis that not necessarily but as a matter of factevery experience is identical with some physical state. Dr suilin lavelle school of philosophy, psychology and language sciences university of.
The identity theory of mind is to the effect that these experiences just are brain processes, not merely correlated with brain processes. A description of the metaphysical distinction between type and token and an answer to the question of how many words are in a rose is a rose is a rose 90 second philosophy. How a type type identity theorist can be a nonreductionist. Apr 14, 2011 its token, it argues that two organs in two different organisms that perform the same function are the same or token identical such that the alien with a different brain to us still has a mind. An early form of identity theory held that each type of mental state, such as pain, is identical with a certain type of physical state of the human brain or central nervous system. An identity theory that disclaims type type correlations is a token token identity theory. This theory tries to identify the connection of mental phenomena with physical processes in the brain. Introduction to token and type identity theory and criticisms. Students are introduced to token and type identity theory. The difference between type identity and token identity, manifests itself in the ontological commitments implicit in various mindbrain identity theses.
Freud would be a supporter of the token identity theory. What is the different between token and type identity theory. Type physicalism also known as reductive materialism, type identity theory, mindbrain identity theory and identity theory of mind is a physicalist theory, in the philosophy of mind. Some philosophers hold that though experiences are brain processes they nevertheless have fundamentally nonphysical, psychical, properties, sometimes called qualia. The type version of identity theory assumes that psychological kinds are physical kinds e.
Token identity synonyms, token identity pronunciation, token identity translation, english dictionary definition of token identity. Every token of a mental state is identical with some particular state of a particular brain. Type physicalism asserts that for every actually instantiated property f, there is some physical property g such that fg. An answer from the idealizational conception of science katarzyna paprzycka two constraints are at work in our philosophical conceptions of the mental. Kripke on the distinctness of the mind from the body. Tokentoken identity theorists do not and need not deny that it may frequently be the same kind of brain state which on different occasions fills the functional role definitive of a given mental state. Jul 09, 2009 all identity theories say that one thing is identical to another thing, but the type token distinction is very subtle.
Week three of the university of edinburghs introduction to philosophy introphil open online course. We have argued that functionallyoriented identity theorists can and should make, in addition to the first two claims, the third type type identity claim that mental states are brain states. There are two types of identity theory and the first one i will discuss is the type type identity theory. Reductive identity theories, type identity theories as well as token identity theories, and models of functional reduction conceive of reduction precisely as described above. Functionalism and typetype identity theories springerlink. The past, present, and future of an identity theory sheldon stryker indiana university peter j. Both his table is an old packing case and the morning star is the same object as the evening star are cases of token identity, cases where two descriptions with different senses just happen to apply to one and the same particular object. In relation to the token identity theory, there is also type identity theory. Is any version of the identity theory of mind acceptable.
The notion type and token here comes by analogy from type and token as applied to words. But the mind brain identity theory asserts the stronger claim that mental and neural state. So, in general, a type theory is harder to defend, but much more informative and explanatory. If it was type identical then to have a mind would be to have a brain so the alien would not have a mind. To illustrate by example, a computer is a type, and the computer i am currently using to prepare this document, is a token of that type. A token identity theory is weaker than a type type identity theory in that they. Types and tokens stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The mindbrain identity theory stanford encyclopedia of. According to this view, particular instances or occurrences of mental states, such as the pain felt by a particular person at a particular time, are identical with particular physical states of the brain or central nervous system. Such a theory implies the weaker claim that every token mental. Bridging token identity theory and supervenience theory.
Explores some answers to the critical questions from worksheet 1 that students have discussed. Consequently a token brain state is a token of pain in a derivative sense. The variable realization of the mental by the physical appears to make this a real possibility, although the issue is delicate, since there are different ways of drawing up the types or kinds of event in question. Mar 27, 2012 a family of views on the relationship between mind and body, type identity theories hold that at least some types or kinds, or classes of mental states are, as a matter of contingent fact, literally identical with some types or kinds, or classes of brain states. Other articles where tokentoken identity theory is discussed. Pdf identity theories are those that hold that sensations are brain processes. It asserts that mental events can be grouped into types, and can then be correlated with types of physical events in the brain. Type identity theory entails token identity theory, but not vice versa. Burke washington state university among the many traditions of research on identity, two somewhat different yet strongly related strands of identity theory have developed.
Type identity theory states that types of mental events are identical with types of physical events. Symbolic interactionist theories of identity g eorge herbert meads foundational work was termed symbolic inter actionism by herbert blumer, who took over meads famous social psychology course after meads death and who became a persistent advocate of symbolic interactionism for half a century. Sep 27, 20 type is conceptual where a token is an actual example of the concept. In identity theory, whats the difference between type. So you can take all the token pains and put them under the category, or type, pain.
Frontiers reincarnating the identity theory psychology. Token identity definition of token identity by the free. The identity theory of mind tim nealphilosophical writings. In any case, whether the eliminativist reading of some of the classic versions of the identity theories of smart, place and armstrong is apt, searles complaint that the theory leaves out the mind does certainly not apply to the version of the identity theory we have defended here. Wikimatrix according to token identity theories, the fact that a certain brain state is connected with only one mental state of a person does not have to mean that there is an absolute correlation between types of mental state and types of brain state.
244 484 1167 1500 76 1507 1621 1150 1188 388 1057 1248 421 367 401 761 1576 1422 378 663 1556 428 1230 1328 799 1327 34 1197 1396 277 939 221 630 639 690 544 56