Buttars, Simon (2003) The epiphenomenal mind. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The Epiphenomenal Mind is both a deflationary attack on the powers of the
human mind and a defence of human subjectivity. It is deflationary because in
the thesis I argue that consciousness is an epiphenomenal consequence of events
in the brain. It is a defence of human subjectivity because I argue that the mind is
sui generis real, irreducible, and largely an endogenous product (i.e. not
dependent on society or its resources).
Part I is devoted to arguing that the conscious mind is epiphenomenal.
Arguing from, the irreducibility of mental states, the causal closure of the
physical domain, and the principle of causal explanatory exclusion, I seek to
demonstrate that all theories of mental causation necessarily violate one or more
of these premises. Contemporary approaches to mental causation come under
two broad categories, those that argue that mental events are supervenient on
physical events (such as Davidson, Kim and Horgan) and those (like Haskar)
who argue that the mind is an emergent property of the brain. Supervenience
based theories, I argue, end up reducing mental states in their search for a theory
of mental causation and emergence based theories end up violating the principle
of the causal closure of the physical.
In part II, I explore some of the consequences of epiphenomenalism for
social theory. This exploration comes in the context of a defence of human
subjectivity against (i.) those sociological imperialists who view the mind and
self as a 'gift of society', and (ii.) social situationalists who have abandoned the
concept of action and an interest in 'what's in the head' of the actor, in favour of
a concept of social action which views behaviour as action only to the extent that
it is socially meaningful. The conclusion is that the social sciences should return
to an interpretative style (Weberian) methodology.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Official Date:	September 2003
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Archer, Margaret Scotford ; Trigg, Roger
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Extent:	viii, 265 leaves
Language:	eng

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