January 20, 2008: A Good place for a brain, a good brain for a Place

ZenGum · 01-19-2008, 09:53 AM

Some rough and ready philosophical background is required here. Don't quote this in your essays.

Until the early 1900s, the philosophical consensus was that there was Mind and there was Body and they were two distinct kinds of things. This position is called Dualism.

In the early to mid 1900s, some people denied that there was Mind at all, only Body and Behavior (which is observable). This is called Behaviorism.

In the 1950s, two chaps in Adeliade, Australia (Ullin Place and Jack Smart) put forward the theory that there is Mind, there is Body, and that Mind just IS Body. That is, the mind is a perfectly normal physical thing like a pulse or body temperature. This is called Identity Theory (the two are quantitatively identical, that is, one and the same thing). It is now the most widely accepted of these three approaches in contemporary philosophy.

Here's U.T. Place:

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Name: Place.jpg
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And here is his brain:

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U.T. Place died in 2000. He left his brain to the university, which has housed it thus:

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It asks, "Did this brain contain the consciousness of U.T. Place?"

According to Identity theory, the answer is, not quite. Rather that the consciousness of U.T. Place was one and the same thing as the activities of this brain.

One of the drawbacks of Identity theory is that you don't get to believe in life after death. I guess this is the consolation prize.

hipshot · 01-19-2008, 11:42 AM

Too much thinkin' makes m'head hurt...

xoxoxoBruce · 01-19-2008, 11:51 AM

A dramatic display to tout his opinion.

Gravdigr · 01-19-2008, 02:59 PM

Did the heavy side of his lop-sided brain account for the tilt of his head (see photo above)? If so, I have a lop-sided brain...

monster · 01-19-2008, 07:01 PM

I wonder what my brain looks like?

TheMercenary · 01-19-2008, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monster

I wonder what my brain looks like?

xoxoxoBruce · 01-19-2008, 09:38 PM

I knew Monster would have a perky pair of brain.

Sheldonrs · 01-19-2008, 10:51 PM

I guess it's true. A Place for everything and everything in it's Place. :-)

Sundae · 01-21-2008, 10:49 AM

If that is his real brain... that's a HUUUUUGE plaque underneath it.
Or do brains shrink when removed from their wrapper?

Flint · 01-21-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

A dramatic display to tout his opinion.

OB · 01-22-2008, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

If that is his real brain... that's a HUUUUUGE plaque underneath it.
Or do brains shrink when removed from their wrapper?

Odd, I was thinking the exact opposite - that his brain looked huuuuge. Maybe I just have a tiny head?

Shawnee123 · 01-22-2008, 10:06 AM

Eh, looks like mac-n-cheese to me.

Dualism: Mac is mac and cheese is cheese. Separate or together, they are distinct entities.

Behaviorism: There is no mac. Only cheese.

Identity: Mac IS cheese. It just is.

Underlying commonality: both edible.

01-19-2008, 09:53 AM	#1
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	January 20, 2008: A Good place for a brain, a good brain for a Place Some rough and ready philosophical background is required here. Don't quote this in your essays. Until the early 1900s, the philosophical consensus was that there was Mind and there was Body and they were two distinct kinds of things. This position is called Dualism. In the early to mid 1900s, some people denied that there was Mind at all, only Body and Behavior (which is observable). This is called Behaviorism. In the 1950s, two chaps in Adeliade, Australia (Ullin Place and Jack Smart) put forward the theory that there is Mind, there is Body, and that Mind just IS Body. That is, the mind is a perfectly normal physical thing like a pulse or body temperature. This is called Identity Theory (the two are quantitatively identical, that is, one and the same thing). It is now the most widely accepted of these three approaches in contemporary philosophy. Here's U.T. Place: And here is his brain: U.T. Place died in 2000. He left his brain to the university, which has housed it thus: It asks, "Did this brain contain the consciousness of U.T. Place?" According to Identity theory, the answer is, not quite. Rather that the consciousness of U.T. Place was one and the same thing as the activities of this brain. One of the drawbacks of Identity theory is that you don't get to believe in life after death. I guess this is the consolation prize. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

01-19-2008, 11:42 AM	#2
hipshot Enlarged to show texture Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 80	Too much thinkin' makes m'head hurt... __________________ "When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather. Not screaming in terror like the passengers in his car."

01-19-2008, 11:51 AM	#3
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	A dramatic display to tout his opinion. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

01-19-2008, 07:01 PM	#5
monster I hear them call the tide Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Perpetual Chaos Posts: 30,852	I wonder what my brain looks like? __________________ The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity Amelia Earhart

01-19-2008, 09:38 PM	#7
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	I knew Monster would have a perky pair of brain. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

01-19-2008, 02:59 PM	#4
Gravdigr The Un-Tuckian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South Central...KY that is Posts: 39,517	Did the heavy side of his lop-sided brain account for the tilt of his head (see photo above)? If so, I have a lop-sided brain...

01-19-2008, 10:51 PM	#8
Sheldonrs Master Dwellar Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 4,412	I guess it's true. A Place for everything and everything in it's Place. :-) __________________ Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and the world laughs AT you.

01-21-2008, 10:49 AM	#9
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	If that is his real brain... that's a HUUUUUGE plaque underneath it. Or do brains shrink when removed from their wrapper? __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

01-22-2008, 10:06 AM	#12
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Eh, looks like mac-n-cheese to me. Dualism: Mac is mac and cheese is cheese. Separate or together, they are distinct entities. Behaviorism: There is no mac. Only cheese. Identity: Mac IS cheese. It just is. Underlying commonality: both edible. Last edited by Shawnee123; 01-22-2008 at 10:11 AM.

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