Philosophy · Philosophy of Mind
A topic within Philosophy of Mind, itself one of 11 topics in that field and part of Philosophy.
2 works
Hilary Putnam
Argues mental states should be defined by the causal role they play between inputs, outputs and other mental states rather than by what they are physically made of, since the same mental state could be realised in different kinds of matter.
link checked 17 Sept 2026Ned Block
Constructs cases, including a nation-sized population wired to reproduce a mind's functional organisation, to argue that something can satisfy every functional description of a mental state while plausibly lacking the experience itself.
link checked 17 Sept 2026