Questioning the causal inheritance principle

<p class="MsoNormal">Mental causation, though a forceful intuition embedded in our commonsense psychology, is difficult to square with the rest of commitments of physicalism about the mind. Advocates of mental causation have found solace in the causal inheritance principle, according...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ivar Allan Hannikainen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Basque Country 2010-10-01
Series:Theoria
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ehu.es/ojs/index.php/THEORIA/article/view/798
_version_ 1811226566002212864
author Ivar Allan Hannikainen
author_facet Ivar Allan Hannikainen
author_sort Ivar Allan Hannikainen
collection DOAJ
description <p class="MsoNormal">Mental causation, though a forceful intuition embedded in our commonsense psychology, is difficult to square with the rest of commitments of physicalism about the mind. Advocates of mental causation have found solace in the causal inheritance principle, according to which the mental properties of mental states share the causal powers of their physical counterparts. In this paper, I present a variety of counterarguments to causal inheritance and conclude that the requirements for causal inheritance are stricter than what standing versions of said principle imply. In line with this, physicalism may be destined to epiphenomenalism unless multiple realizability turns out false.</p> <p> </p>
first_indexed 2024-04-12T09:27:21Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d414ee42470b48a9962eb13a32652a06
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0495-4548
2171-679X
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-12T09:27:21Z
publishDate 2010-10-01
publisher University of the Basque Country
record_format Article
series Theoria
spelling doaj.art-d414ee42470b48a9962eb13a32652a062022-12-22T03:38:28ZengUniversity of the Basque CountryTheoria0495-45482171-679X2010-10-0125326127710.1387/theoria.798774Questioning the causal inheritance principleIvar Allan Hannikainen0Universidad Complutense de Madrid<p class="MsoNormal">Mental causation, though a forceful intuition embedded in our commonsense psychology, is difficult to square with the rest of commitments of physicalism about the mind. Advocates of mental causation have found solace in the causal inheritance principle, according to which the mental properties of mental states share the causal powers of their physical counterparts. In this paper, I present a variety of counterarguments to causal inheritance and conclude that the requirements for causal inheritance are stricter than what standing versions of said principle imply. In line with this, physicalism may be destined to epiphenomenalism unless multiple realizability turns out false.</p> <p> </p>http://www.ehu.es/ojs/index.php/THEORIA/article/view/798mental causationexclusion problemphysicalismKimsupervenience.
spellingShingle Ivar Allan Hannikainen
Questioning the causal inheritance principle
Theoria
mental causation
exclusion problem
physicalism
Kim
supervenience.
title Questioning the causal inheritance principle
title_full Questioning the causal inheritance principle
title_fullStr Questioning the causal inheritance principle
title_full_unstemmed Questioning the causal inheritance principle
title_short Questioning the causal inheritance principle
title_sort questioning the causal inheritance principle
topic mental causation
exclusion problem
physicalism
Kim
supervenience.
url http://www.ehu.es/ojs/index.php/THEORIA/article/view/798
work_keys_str_mv AT ivarallanhannikainen questioningthecausalinheritanceprinciple