Two Requirements of Mental State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Two Requirements of Mental State - Essay Example In order to understand such concepts, this paper will use the case of a friend who was recently involved in an accident and cannot be allowed to leave hospital since the doctors are unsure of the student’s mental state. Doctors claim that her brain is not normal whereas she has a clear memory of the accident and behaves in the same way as before. In my opinion of whether the hospitalized friend ha mental states or not, I believe that one can have a mental state even without an organic brain. Moreover, behaving like a human being does not prove that one has a mental state. The hospitalized friend does not show a normal range of mental states, but she shows some mental states. All the doctors in the cases have different perspectives on mental state. Their arguments represent different philosophical theories. The first doctor claims that mental states are type-identical to states of the human brain and since the patient in our case lacks a normal brain, he cannot have mental states. Doctor two said that the patient had some mental states since he could behave exactly like others but insisted that the patient did not have all of mental states. Thus in doctor two’s view, right behavior is only a necessary condition of mental states. Doctor three believes that mental states required a Cartesian soul. Dr. four disagrees and claims that same behavior is sufficient for mental states. Dr. Five rejected that human brain is necessary for mental states. In addition, he claims that if what in the patient’s head is a digital computer, then he cannot have mental states. All doctors are represent some philosophical theories. Dr. #1 is an identity theorist, #2 believes functionalism and Dr. #3 is a Cartesian. Dr. #4 is behaviorist and #5 represents parts of John Searle’s view that against machine can possibly think. This paper will focus on discuss Dr #1 and Dr #5. It is important to understand what a mental