Identity theory of mind¶
Type physicalism (also known as reductive materialism, type identity theory, mind–brain identity theory, and identity theory of mind) is a physicalist theory in the philosophy of mind.
Core Idea¶
Identity theory of mind is treated here as the recurring social sciences, humanities, and arts identity summarized by this source-grounded definition: Type physicalism (also known as reductive materialism, type identity theory, mind–brain identity theory, and identity theory of mind) is a physicalist theory in the philosophy of mind. Type physicalism (also known as reductive materialism, type identity theory, mind–brain identity theory, and identity theory of mind) is a physicalist theory in the philosophy of mind.
Scope of Application¶
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Criticism and repliesMultiple realizability. "The functionalist second order [causal] state is a state of having some first order state or other which causes or is caused by the behavior to which the functionalist alludes.
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Criticism and repliesMultiple realizability. However, token identity (where only particular tokens of mental states are identical with particular tokens of physical events) and functionalism both account for multiple realizability.
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Criticism and repliesMultiple realizability. Hilary Putnam essentially rejects functionalism because, he believes, it is indeed a second-order type identity theory.
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Criticism and repliesMultiple realizability. Putnam uses multiple realizability against functionalism itself, suggesting that mental events (or kinds, in Putnam's terminology) may be diversely implemented by diverse functional/computational kinds; there may be only a token.
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Other. They resist functional analysis and float free of whatever physical mechanisms are posited to explain them." He proposes instead that phenomenality is an illusion, arguing that it is therefore the illusion.
Clarity¶
A clear use of Identity theory of mind names the carrier, the operative relation, and the conditions under which the source treats the identity as present. The minimal definition is Type physicalism (also known as reductive materialism, type identity theory, mind–brain identity theory, and identity theory of mind) is a physicalist theory in the philosophy of mind.
Manages Complexity¶
Identity theory of mind compresses multiple social sciences, humanities, and arts details into a stable diagnostic relation. The source shows both the central mechanism—"The functionalist second order [causal] state is a state of having some first order state or other which causes or is caused by the behavior to which the functionalist alludes.—and the practical consequence—the fundamental point is that it is extremely difficult to determine where.
Abstract Reasoning¶
- Type the carrier. Identify the social sciences, humanities, and arts entities to which the claim applies.
- State the relation. Use the source-grounded identity: Type physicalism (also known as reductive materialism, type identity theory, mind–brain identity theory, and identity theory of mind) is a physicalist theory in the philosophy of mind.
- Check operation and conditions. Smart, along with the discrediting of phenomenalism through the influence of the later Wittgenstein and J.
- Demand recognition evidence.
Knowledge Transfer¶
Within the home domain. Knowledge about Identity theory of mind transfers literally when a new case preserves the same carrier type, relation, and recognition test. "The functionalist second order [causal] state is a state of having some first order state or other which causes or is caused by the behavior to which the functionalist alludes. However, token identity (where only particular tokens of mental states are identical with particular tokens of physical events) and functionalism both account for multiple realizability. Beyond the home domain. No canonical parent is asserted for Identity theory of mind.
Relationships to Other Abstractions¶
Current abstraction Identity theory of mind Domain-specific
Parents (1) — more general patterns this builds on
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Identity theory of mind is a kind of Physicalism Domain-specific
Type identity theory is the reductive-materialist thesis that every mental-state type is identical to a physical (neural) state type, which is a specific way of being a physicalist.
Hierarchy path (1) — routes to 1 parentless root
- Identity theory of mind → Physicalism → Other (philosophy) → Relation
Neighborhood in Abstraction Space¶
Identity theory of mind sits in a sparse region of the domain-specific corpus (88th percentile for distinctiveness): few abstractions share its structure, so a faithful description tends to retrieve it precisely.
Family — Unclustered & Miscellaneous (2551 abstractions)
Nearest neighbors
- Representationalism (Indirect Realism) — 0.82
- Hempel's dilemma — 0.82
- Phenomenal concept strategy — 0.80
- Naturalization of intentionality — 0.80
- Internal Measurement — 0.80
Computed from structural-signature embeddings · 2026-10-08