An Intellectual Future With Churchland Summary

An Intellectual Future with Churchland Qualia, “are experiential or subjective properties of certain mental states” (Jackson & Nagel Handout). Individuals express themselves through qualia, on a daily basis, even in early child development. For example, a child speaking to their mother would state, “mommy my tummy hurts.” Hence, the mother would know that her child is hurting. Qualia is a somewhat beneficial tool humans use to describe their current, specific mental state. Although qualia is a convenient method of communication, philosophers such as Thomas Nagel and Frank Jackson agree that mental states cannot be reduced to physical states without qualia. Jackson argues that science itself cannot explain every aspect of life. In support,

Although Nagel and Jackson make strong arguments in support of the qualia principle, philosopher Paul Churchland opposes their arguments. Churchland’s point of view revolves around the idea that mental states can be reduced to physical states with the exclusion of qualia. Additionally, Churchland states, “mental states and their properties can be reduced to the neurophysical” (Churchland Handout), which allows individuals to truly express themselves. Therefore, I agree with Churchland that in order to describe something we do not need qualia. Through the mother thought experiment, one can deduce that specifications would greatly improve the information of the mother. For example, if the child were to describe his “tummy ache” in a neurophysical term, such as “dyspepsia”, the mother would have a direct path to better aiding her child, or at least have a better understanding on how to collect more information. Through Churchland’s argument humans would be able to communicate in a reasonable and intellectual manner which would benefit not only our knowledge, but our

In other words, Nagel would claim the redness of an apple in an objective phenomenal yet, the objective qualia should never have been implicated in the minds in the first place it should have been observed from the outside being able to become subjective to the “redness” of the apple. This example to myself shows that if Nagel describes the redness of an apple based on his experience, my experience can varies therefore using neuropsychological language would be subjective to the apple description. Churchland claim is complex in understand but by challenge ourselves to understand what he is explaining can lead us to master a mature level of communicating and understanding