Exclusion principle
Encyclopedia
The Exclusion principle is a philosophical
principle that states:
This is interpreted as meaning, mental events supervene upon the physical. However, some philosophers do not accept this principle, and accept epiphenomenalism
, which states mental events are caused by physical events, but physical events are not caused by mental events (called causal impotence). However, If e# does not cause e, then there is no way to verify that e* exists. Yet, this debate has not been settled in the philosophical community.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
principle that states:
- If an eventEvent (philosophy)In philosophy, events are objects in time or instantiations of properties in objects. However, a definite definition has not been reached, as multiple theories exist concerning events.-Kim’s Property-Exemplification Account of Events:...
e causesCausalityCausality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
event e*, then there is no event e# such that e# is non-supervenientSupervenienceIn philosophy, supervenience is a kind of dependency relationship. For example, mental states might depend on physical brain states. This dependency is typically held to obtain between sets of properties. A classic example is that mental states of pain supervene on 'C-fibers firing'...
on e and e# causes e*.
In physicalism
The exclusion principle is most commonly applied when one poses this scenario; One usually considers that the desire to lift one’s arm as a mental event, and the lifting on one's arm, a physical event. According to the exclusion principle, there must be an event that does not supervene on e while causing e*. To show this better, substitute "the desire to lift one's arm" for "e", and "one to lift their arm" for "e*".- If the desire to lift one's arm causes one to lift their arm, then there is no event such that it is non-supervenient on the desire to lift one's arm and it causes one to lift their arm.
This is interpreted as meaning, mental events supervene upon the physical. However, some philosophers do not accept this principle, and accept epiphenomenalism
Epiphenomenalism
In philosophy of mind, epiphenomenalism, also known as Type-E Dualism, is a view that "mental" states do not have any influence on "physical" states.-Background:...
, which states mental events are caused by physical events, but physical events are not caused by mental events (called causal impotence). However, If e# does not cause e, then there is no way to verify that e* exists. Yet, this debate has not been settled in the philosophical community.