Podcasts · The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Ep. 401: Mind/Brain Identity Theory (U.T. Place, J.J.C. Smart) (Part One)

· 50 min

Episode Ep. 401: Mind/Brain Identity Theory (U.T. Place, J.J.C. Smart) (Part One)

0:00 49:37

On U.T. Place's "Is Consciousness a Brain Process?" (1956) and J.J.C. Smart's "Sensations and Brain Processes" (1959), w/ guest Chris Heath.

Is there some a priori reason for denying that the mind can actually be the brain? Obviously those two words don't mean the same thing, but can we think of them as a single thing under two descriptions? Place argues that the identity is not unlike other scientific identities, like lightning being the same as a motion of electric charges.

Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

The episode on the publisher’s site (opens in a new tab)

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.