Episteme
Article Title
Abstract
This paper traces the logical movements in Jaegwon Kim’s philosophy of mind addressed to physicalists. To start, a brief background to the contemporary debate between substance dualists, property dualists, and reductionists is provided. The author then argues that Kim uses inconsistent logic in his argument against non-reductive physicalism, compared with his argument against substance dualism: the pairing problem. It turns out that Kim fails to eliminate substance dualism as a possible theory of mind, in particular as an explanation of mental causation. The author offers a separate argument that would improve Kim’s case.
Recommended Citation
Mooneyham, Benjamin D.
(2009)
"A Gap in Kim's Eliminative Argument for Reductionism,"
Episteme: Vol. 20, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/episteme/vol20/iss1/3