Searle's Biological Naturalism

Paper Summary:

An analysis of the writings of psychologist John C. Searle and his philosophy of the mind. Includes a deep probing into the mind-body debate and an analysis of Searle's concepts and ideas.

From the Paper:

"Searle's answer to the mind-body problem is a radical adjustment in how we view mental and physical phenomena in regards to the philosophy of the mind. In fact, his solution demands a complete shift in the language we use to approach the mind-body problem. Searle asserts that we must no longer partition phenomena into either the mental and the physical. What we observe as mental phenomena are actually higher-level views of physical events taking place in the brain and perhaps the central nervous system. The workings of the brain do not exist in two separate domains that are related by rules, programs, or processing of information. To even consider one big all-inclusive domain would be wrong. Searle's whole point is to discard the language we have used to describe the workings of the brain. Our language reflects our approach towards the problem, and by using the terms "mental" and "physical" we unnecessarily compartmentalize the observations we make about the mind. A philosophy of the mind does not need to incorporate a mysterious mental component that is seemingly detached from the physical."

More papers on Searle's Biological Naturalism:

• Research Paper # 55451 : "Searle's Criticism of Materialism"
• Essay # 138150 : "Rebuttals to Searle’s Chinese Room Argument"
• Term Paper # 142904 : "Searle: AI Cannot Think"

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