Philosophy of Mind Vocabulary

the property of mental states being about or directed at something

“Beliefs exhibit intentionality—they are always beliefs about something.”

the subjective, conscious qualities of experience (the 'what it's like')

“The qualia of seeing red cannot be fully conveyed in words.”

a mental state that stands for or depicts something else

“Mental representations allow us to think about absent objects.”

the view that mental states are defined by their functional roles

“Functionalism suggests minds could be implemented in different substrates.”

complex properties arising from simpler components that lack those properties

“Consciousness may be an emergent property of neural activity.”

the idea that mental processes don't depend on specific physical material

“Substrate independence implies silicon could support consciousness.”

connecting abstract symbols to real-world meaning and experience

“The symbol grounding problem asks how words acquire meaning.”

the subjective, experiential aspect of mental states

“Phenomenal consciousness is what makes experiences feel like something.”

a mental state relating a person to a proposition (believes that, hopes that)

“Propositional attitudes like belief and desire explain behavior.”

the view that mind and body are fundamentally different substances

“Cartesian dualism posits a non-physical mind interacting with the body.”

the view that everything, including mind, is ultimately physical

“Physicalism holds that mental states are brain states.”

the view that mental events are caused by physical events but have no causal power

“Epiphenomenalism treats consciousness as a byproduct without influence.”