What is a epiphenomenon in psychology?
Definition of epiphenomenon : a secondary phenomenon accompanying another and caused by it specifically : a secondary mental phenomenon that is caused by and accompanies a physical phenomenon but has no causal influence itself.
What is an example of epiphenomenon?
In the more general use of the word, a causal relationship between the phenomena is implied; the epiphenomenon is a consequence of the primary phenomenon. For example, having an increased risk of breast cancer concurrent with taking an antibiotic is an epiphenomenon.
What is the problem with epiphenomenalism?
The most powerful argument against epiphenomenalism is that it is self-contradictory: if we have knowledge about epiphenomenalism, then our brains know about the existence of the mind, but if epiphenomenalism were correct, then our brains should not have any knowledge about the mind, because the mind does not affect …
Is mental imagery an epiphenomenon?
This model, known as the computational theory or propositional theory, holds that mental imagery is an epiphenomenon, or a secondary effect of a more basic cognitive process. This theory is most associated with the work of Canadian philosopher and cognitive scientist Zenon Pylyshyn.
Is consciousness an epiphenomenon?
However, for others, consciousness is an epiphenomenon, that is, something without a direct function, like the redness of blood – a characteristic which was not selected for, but was a consequence of the mechanism selected to deliver oxygen. It is the neural structures underlying conscious experience that are causal.
What does an Epiphenomenalist believe?
Epiphenomenalism is the view that mental events are caused by physical events in the brain, but have no effects upon any physical events. Behavior is caused by muscles that contract upon receiving neural impulses, and neural impulses are generated by input from other neurons or from sense organs.
Is epiphenomenalism physical?
So physicalist epiphenom- enalism is the conjunction of physicalism-i.e., the doctrine that tokens of mental events are tokens of physical events-and type epiphenomenalism. Classic epiphenomenalism, on the other hand, robs mental events of any causal powers whatsoever.
What is aphantasia?
Visual imagery, in which your brain creates pictures inside your head, is a big part of how most people process information. But some people lack the ability to do this. They have a condition called aphantasia. The ability to create mental images exists on a spectrum. On one end are people with complete aphantasia.
What does Jackson mean when he claims that qualia are Epiphenomenal?
Jackson argues that qualia are epiphenomenal; i.e., they don’t cause anything physical (he allows that they might cause other mental events) and furthermore, that “their possession or absence makes no difference to the physical world.”
What is the meaning of epiphenomenon?
Definition of epiphenomenon. : a secondary phenomenon accompanying another and caused by it specifically : a secondary mental phenomenon that is caused by and accompanies a physical phenomenon but has no causal influence itself.
Are there any works that use the term “epiphenomenalism”?
None of the works just mentioned include the term “epiphenomenalism”. I have located three articles in Mind in the 1890s that do use the term (the earliest, in 1893, hyphenates it as “epi-phenomenalism”).
How do contemporary thinkers respond to the central motivation for epiphenomenalism?
Many contemporary thinkers would respond to the central motivation for epiphenomenalism by denying its dualistic presupposition, i.e., by holding that mental events are identical with physical events, and may therefore have physical effects. Questions that remain for such physicalistic views will be explained in section 3.
Is life an epiphenomenon of Science?
Life, according to Crick, was an epiphenomenon of physics and chemistry — complex, yes, but still explicable in molecular terms. — New York Times, 24 Mar. 2021 Knowland is not an epiphenomenon of cancel culture writ large, a hapless victim of the times.