INTRODUCTION

Materialism is a central theme in mind-body problem, the aim of this work is to analyze
the concept of materialism and also to critic the various schools of thoughts under materialism, I
will begin by analyzing the concept of materialism and its background before delving deeply into
the various schools of thoughts in materialism and their criticisms, the work takes the
phenomenological and analytic method in defining terms and concepts.

WHAT IS MATERIALISM?

Materialism is the general theory that the ultimate constituents of reality are material or
physical bodies, elements or processes. It is a form of monism in that it holds that everything in
existence is reducible to what is material or physical in nature. 1 These physical entities that exist
can fully explain consciousness. Furthermore Materialism, in its various forms, asserts that
mental states, consciousness, and cognitive processes are fundamentally rooted in physical
entities and processes. It stands in contrast to dualism, which posits a fundamental distinction
between the mental and the physical.

THE VARIOUS MATERIALIST THEORIES AND THEIR CRITICISMS

Materialism comes in various different sheds or theories the basic ones are 1). Identity
Theory, 2.) Functionalism 3.) Eliminative Materialism 4.) Supervenience theory. 5) Behaviorism
I will now analyze and critic these various theories.

IDENTITY THEORY

Identity theory is one of the materialist theories which delved into the mind and body
arguments. It is also known as Type Identity theory and it holds that at least some types (or kinds,
or classes) of mental states are, as a matter of contingent fact, literally identical with some types
(or kinds, or classes) of brain states, in other words this means that each type of mental state is
identical to a specific type of neurological state.2

CRITICISMS AGAISNT IDENTIY THEORY

1
Stack, G. (1998). Materialism. In Materialism. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and Francis.
Retrieved 23 Nov. 2023, from https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/materialism/v-1/sections/
materialism. doi:10.4324/9780415249126-DC098-1
2
Steven Schneider (2022). Identity Theory, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Retrieved 24th Nov. 2023, from
https://iep.utm.edu/identity/#H5

1
 The most famous objection to type identity theory was developed by Putnam. He argues
that mental properties are not identical to physical properties because the same mental property
can be related to different physical properties. For example, the brain states that relate to pain
may well be different in different species, in humans and birds, but pain is the same mental state.
If this is true, there are creatures who, when they are in pain, have different physical properties
from us when we are in pain. Therefore, ‘being in pain’ cannot be exactly the same thing as
having a particular physical property. This is the argument from ‘multiple realizability’. 3 Saul
Kripke and David Chalmers also criticized this theory

FUNCTIONALISM
Functionalism defines types of mental states in terms of their causal roles relative to
sensory stimulation, other mental states, and physical states or Behaviour. It was introduced in
the 1960’s by the American philosopher Hilary Putman and it was considered as an advance over
the type-identity theory.4According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy “Functionalism
is the doctrine that what makes something a thought, desire, pain (or any other type of mental
state) depends not on its internal constitution, but solely on its function, or the role it plays, in the
5
cognitive system of which it is a part.” This theory is often seen as a neutral way between
materialism and Dualism, but it was adopted by the materialist theorists especially David Lewis
to support his argument that it is overwhelmingly likely that any states capable of playing the
roles in question will be physical states.

CRITICISMS AGAISNT FUNCTIONALISM

The major criticism leveled against the functionalism theory is that it cannot
accommodate the conscious, qualitative aspect of mental life, furthermore since it’s focus is on
the way mental states enter into casual structure, it cannot account for mental representation. 6

Another criticism of functionalism, is that it does not account for the complexities of
human emotion and feeling. For example, what is missing in the theory of Functionalism is the

3
Stack, G.(1998). Materialism. In Materialism. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and Francis.
4
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, February 16). functionalism. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 24th
Nov. 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/functionalism-philosophy-of-mind
5
levin, Janet, "Functionalism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2023 Edition), Edward N. Zalta &
Uri Nodelman (eds.), Retrieved 24th Nov. 2023, from
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2023/entries/functionalism/
6
Papineau, D.(1998). Functionalism. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and Francis. Retrieved 24
Nov. 2023, from https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/functionalism/v-1.

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allowance for subjective, conscious emotion, or qualia and this argument for the existence of
qualia is rooted in the idea that some emotions, namely pleasure and pain, cannot be analyzed in
an objective manner.7

ELIMINATIVE MATERIALISM

This theory is one of the most radical theories of the mind, it was introduced in the
1980’s, this theory holds that there are no metal states in the folk-psychological sense and the
mind is nothing more or less than the brain. Folk psychology refers to every day language and
understanding people use to refer to mental state. The theory holds that commonly used
psychological terms, such as belief, desires, and mental states, do not accurately describe the
human mind, but a more rigorous scientific studying of physical brain and nervous system
processes can explain the mind, in other words they posit that the mind can be explained solely
through physical brain and nervous system processes.8 The main point of eliminative materialism
is that categorization of mental states according to our ordinary, everyday understanding is
illegitimate, because it is not supported by the best scientific classifications that deal with mental
life, such as neuroscience, so they hold that Folk psychological notions and categories of mental
states are empty, that is, they do not stand for anything in objective reality.

CRITICISM OF ELIMINATIVE THEORY

One of the major criticisms against eliminative materialism is the argument that it is self-
refuting because it uses intentional concepts, such as beliefs and desires, to argue against the
existence of intentional concepts. Critics contend that eliminative materialists are caught in a
paradox as they employ concepts they claim are flawed. This argument was propounded by the
philosopher Paul Boghossian.9 Another Criticism stems from the various characterizations of folk
psychology, it has various distinct traditions, one tradition stems from the writings of
Wittgenstein and Ryle, “According to this view, our talk about mental states should be
interpreted as talk about abstracta that, although real, are not candidates for straightforward

7
UK Essays. (November 2018). Functionalism A Viable Materialist Philosophy Essay. Retrieved 24th Nov. 2023, from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/functionalism-a-viable-materialist-philosophy-essay.php?vref=1
8
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2017, June 16). Eliminative materialism. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved
24th Nov. 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/eliminatiematerialism
9
Boghossian, P. (1990). "The Status of Content" Philosophical Review 99: 157-84.

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reduction or elimination as the result of cognitive science research” 10 and they insist “that
(contra many eliminativists) common sense psychology is not a quasi-scientific theory used to
explain or predict behavior, nor does it treat mental states like beliefs as discrete inner causes of
behavior”11

SUPERVENIENCE THEORY

The physicalist who appeals to supervenience is trying to honor the fact that the mental
depends entirely on the physical without being committed to the view that mental properties are
identical with physical properties. Supervenience has often been appealed to by philosophers
who want to uphold physicalism while rejecting the identity theory, and they argue that
“although it may be impossible to identify mental properties with physical properties in a one-to-
one fashion, mental properties may still supervene on, and thus be grounded in, physical
properties.”12

CRITICISMS AGAISNT THE SUPERVENEINE THEORY

The major criticisms levelled against the supervenience theory is that it fails to give an
explanation of mental phenomena and also it fails to give an ontological ground for mental
phenomena.13

BEHAVIORISM

This theory holds that mental states, desires, beliefs, and emotions are merely sets of
behaviors14. There are different types of behaviorism like methodological, psychological, and
analytical behaviorism and they all have historical foundations in the philosophical movement of
logical positivism, which holds that the meaning of statements used in science must be
understood in terms of experimental conditions or observations that verify truth, this doctrine is

10
Ramsey, William, (Spring 2022 Edition), Eliminative Materialism, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Edward
N. Zalta (ed.), Retrieved on 28th November from https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/materialism-
eliminative/
11
Ramsey, William, Eliminative Materialism, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
12
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2017, June 9). Supervenience. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/supervenience Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
13
Robert Francescotti, Supervenience and mind, Internet Enclycopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved on 28th November
28, 2023 from https://iep.utm.edu/supermin
14
Monetero, Barba Gail, Behaviorism, Philosophy of mind: A very short introduction, Very Short Introductions
( Oxford, 202; online edn, Oxford Academic, 27 Jan. 2022),
https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/978019880907.003.0002, Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

4
known as the verification principle. For instance, analytical behaviorism holds the claim thar
mental concepts refer to behavioral tendencies and so it must be translated into behavioural
terms.15 In this theory we have philosophers and psychologist like B.F skinner, John B. Watson,
Ivan Pavlov, Gibert Ryke amongst others.

CRITICISMS AGAINST BEHAVIOURSIM

Some major criticisms levelled against behaviorism is that the theory focuses more on
behaviors that are observable and does not provide a comprehensive account of metal processes
that are nor directly observable, for instance memory and reasoning are both cognitive processes.
Also the philosopher Putman in criticizing behaviorism introduced a distinction between analytic
and synthetic entailments16

CONCLUSION

Materialism, in its various forms, asserts that mental states, consciousness, and cognitive
processes are fundamentally rooted in physical entities and processes. There are various
materialists schools of thoughts or theories like, identity theory, which holds that each type of
mental state is identical to a specific type of neurological state, functionalism which holds that
what makes something a thought, desire, pain (or any other type of mental state) depends not on
its internal constitution, but solely on its function, or the role it plays, in the cognitive system of
which it is a part, Supervenience theory, Behaviorism and eliminative materialism, they all have
their various criticisms as I have analyzed in the body of this work.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

15
Graham, George, Behaviorism, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (spring 2023 Edition), Edward N.Zalta &
Uri Nodelman(eds.) URL= https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/behaviorism/ accessed 28th Nov.
2023
16
Jeff speaks. 2006 Some objections to behaviorism. Notre Dame university Retrieved on 28th November 28, 2023.
From https://www3.nd.edu/~jspeaks/courses/2006-7/20208/objections-behaviorism.html

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Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2017, June 16). Eliminative materialism. Encyclopedia
Britannica. Retrieved 24th Nov. 2023, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/eliminatiematerialism

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2017, June 9). Supervenience. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/supervenience Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2023, February 16). Functionalism. Encyclopedia

Britannica. Retrieved 24th Nov. 2023, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/functionalism-philosophy-of-mind

Graham, George, (spring 2023 Edition), Behaviorism, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Edward N.Zalta & Uri Nodelman(eds.) URL=
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2023/entries/behaviorism/ Accessed 28th Nov.
2023

Jeff speaks. 2006 Some objections to behaviorism. Notre Dame university Retrieved on 28th
November 28, 2023. From
https://www3.nd.edu/~jspeaks/courses/2006-7/20208/objections-behaviorism.html

levin, Janet, (Summer 2023 Edition), Functionalism, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), Retrieved 24th Nov. 2023, from
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2023/entries/functionalism/

Monetero, Barba Gail, Behaviorism, Philosophy of mind: A very short introduction, Very Short
Introductions ( Oxford, 202; online edn, Oxford Academic, 27 Jan. 2022),
https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/978019880907.003.0002 Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Papineau, D.(1998). Functionalism. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Taylor and

Francis. Retrieved 24 Nov. 2023, from
https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/functionalism/v-1

Paschal, Boghossian (1990). "The Status of Content" Philosophical Review 99: 157-84.

Ramsey, William, (Spring 2022 Edition), Eliminative Materialism, The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Retrieved on 28th November from
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2022/entries/materialism-eliminative/

6
Francescotti Robert, Supervenience and mind, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved
on 28th November 28, 2023 from https://iep.utm.edu/supermin

Stack, G. (1998). Materialism. In Materialism. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Taylor and Francis. Retrieved 23 Nov. 2023, from
https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/materialism/v-1/sections/materialism

Steven Schneider (2022). Identity Theory, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Retrieved 24th
Nov. 2023, from https://iep.utm.edu/identity/#H5

UK Essays. (November 2018). Functionalism A Viable Materialist Philosophy Essay. Retrieved

24th Nov. 2023, from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/functionalism-a-
viable-materialist-philosophy-essay.php?vref=1