Comments on: Brains and Behavior http://www.davidgagne.net/2002/03/23/brains-and-behavior/ The personal weblog of David Vincent Gagne Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:06:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dan Cook http://www.davidgagne.net/2002/03/23/brains-and-behavior/#comment-4735 Dan Cook Fri, 11 Mar 2005 21:48:15 +0000 http://www.davidgagne.net/?p=5326#comment-4735 I am currently writing my own paper on Putnam and have come to the conclusion that Putnam's article misses the point about Logical Behaviourism. Putnam defines behaviour as “that all talk about 'mental event” is translatable into talk about overt behaviour.” However, a much better/accurate definition would be: “that all talk about 'mental event” is translatable into a disposition to behave in a certain fashion.” Just because the super-spartans and super-super-spartans do not overtly display their feelings of pain does not mean that they still have the disposition (desire, tendency) to display this behaviour and therefore, their minds are still translating the mental-events to (hidden) behaviour. Rather than eliminating the output of the brain function (and destroying Behaviourism), Putnam seems to be merely placing a brick wall between the outputted behavioural disposition and the outwardly obvious behaviour. Dan I am currently writing my own paper on Putnam and have come to the conclusion that Putnam’s article misses the point about Logical Behaviourism.

Putnam defines behaviour as “that all talk about ‘mental event” is translatable into talk about overt behaviour.”

However, a much better/accurate definition would be:
“that all talk about ‘mental event” is translatable into a disposition to behave in a certain fashion.”

Just because the super-spartans and super-super-spartans do not overtly display their feelings of pain does not mean that they still have the disposition (desire, tendency) to display this behaviour and therefore, their minds are still translating the mental-events to (hidden) behaviour.

Rather than eliminating the output of the brain function (and destroying Behaviourism), Putnam seems to be merely placing a brick wall between the outputted behavioural disposition and the outwardly obvious behaviour.
Dan

]]> By: Rhett C. Burch http://www.davidgagne.net/2002/03/23/brains-and-behavior/#comment-1601 Rhett C. Burch Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.davidgagne.net/?p=5326#comment-1601 To understand the mind is to attempt to understand all things unknown. Your mind or our minds are things we cannot reach, therefore effortless attempts to do so need not apply. Not to say the mind is something we cannot apply to things and use in ways that may seem extraordinary, but that is just the reason that the mind is unknown or in the unknown. It must exist with all eternal things such as God and absolute proofs. I understand that when we die our brain shuts down, but the process of thought never stops. Thought from the mind lives daily just as absolute truths and eternal beauty. However we do not discover these things as they leap around our heads in a metaphysical world, simply because we are too foolish to discontinue searching for them. As we use our "greatest" tool, reason, we do nothing but delay the solution and end up where we've begun. To understand the mind is to attempt to understand all things unknown. Your mind or our minds are things we cannot reach, therefore effortless attempts to do so need not apply. Not to say the mind is something we cannot apply to things and use in ways that may seem extraordinary, but that is just the reason that the mind is unknown or in the unknown. It must exist with all eternal things such as God and absolute proofs. I understand that when we die our brain shuts down, but the process of thought never stops. Thought from the mind lives daily just as absolute truths and eternal beauty. However we do not discover these things as they leap around our heads in a metaphysical world, simply because we are too foolish to discontinue searching for them. As we use our “greatest” tool, reason, we do nothing but delay the solution and end up where we’ve begun.

]]> By: Mikey Collins http://www.davidgagne.net/2002/03/23/brains-and-behavior/#comment-1602 Mikey Collins Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.davidgagne.net/?p=5326#comment-1602 Although our knowledge of God or a god may be absolute because we go to church, one should point out to onesself that church is only as good as the school that one goes to on Sunday. If one does not go to church then we should realize that they do not exist {in a corporeal world}. They are merely balls of meat and organs that float around doing the work of Joe Pepsi or Joe Pecsi. Although our knowledge of God or a god may be absolute because we go to church, one should point out to onesself that church is only as good as the school that one goes to on Sunday. If one does not go to church then we should realize that they do not exist {in a corporeal world}. They are merely balls of meat and organs that float around doing the work of Joe Pepsi or Joe Pecsi.

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