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physical cause
Also known as: physical cause, physical causes
Facts (10)
Sources
Non-physicalist Theories of Consciousness cambridge.org Dec 20, 2023 7 facts
claimThe explanatory role of consciousness in dual-aspect monism can be described as causal, constitutive, or explanatory in a broader sense, as consciousness enables the existence of physical causes.
claimDual-aspect monism argues that the narrow version of the principle of physical causal closure is false because purely physical causes would be purely structural entities, and structures cannot exist without being realized by something with intrinsic properties, analogous to how software cannot exist without hardware.
claimThe theory of overdetermination posits that behavior has mental causes in addition to sufficient physical causes, meaning behavior is caused by both a physical brain state and a non-physical conscious state.
claimInteractionist dualism suggests consciousness may cause physical behavior either independently or in conjunction with physical causes, where neither is sufficient on its own, similar to how a forest fire requires both drought and a lightning strike.
claimOverdetermination dualism requires that the overdetermination be systematic, meaning behavior always has a sufficient physical cause in addition to its mental cause, and the physical cause never fails in a way that allows the mental cause to act alone, thereby preserving physical causal closure.
claimEpiphenomenalist dualism posits that psychophysical laws operate in one direction only: physical causes produce mental effects, but mental causes do not produce physical effects.
claimInteractionism is incompatible with the principle of physical causal closure because it denies that physical behavior has sufficient physical causes.
Hard Problem of Consciousness | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 2 facts
claimInteractionist dualism requires the rejection of the principle of causal closure, which is the claim that every physical event is fully determined by a physical cause.
claimThe principle of causal closure states that the physical world is causally closed, meaning all physical events have physical causes.
Dualism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Winter 2016 Edition) plato.stanford.edu Aug 19, 2003 1 fact
claimInteractionism violates the principle of physical closure if physical closure is assumed to be true, because there is no feature of a purely physical effect that is not contributed by a purely physical cause.