On Ryle's Behaviorist Answer To The Problem Of Other Mind

Descartes argued that mind and material substance are independent of each other and that the body and mind cannot interact with each other under the doctrine of dualism,whereas the human being as a special being has both a body and a mind,which raises the question of ’mind-body dualism’.How can we determine whether someone other than me has a mind,and how can we prove it?At the same time,the question of whether there is a reliable way of knowing other minds that has a solid basis,foundation and process is inherent in the question of other minds.Behaviorism holds that one can judge the state of one’s mind by one’s external actions or behavioral tendencies,that there is nothing special about knowing oneself and knowing other minds,and that other minds are therefore observable.Ryle,a representative of philosophical behaviorism,begins his Concept of Mind by arguing that the Cartesian theory of the body and the mind as separate from each other is a ’category error’,that the mind is a’ghost in the machine’,and that mind and matter belong to different categories and cannot be compared.Mind and matter belong to different categories and are therefore not comparable.Ryle focuses on sentences containing mental predicates which do not merely refer to the muscular activity of the person,but also express the state of play of certain psychological qualities of the person.The behavior described by sentences containing mental predicates is not just a physical act,but an intellectual one.In this way,the mind-body relationship is nothing more than a relationship between the act and the way it is performed,and the mind that knows others is transformed into the way,inclination or skill of knowing others.The problem of other minds is thus solved.The first part of the essay discusses mind-body dualism and the other-mind problem,showing that the creation of dualism makes the mind private and leads to the cloud of doubt about the other-mind problem.The second part deals with the basic ideas of philosophical behaviorism and Ryle’s behaviorism,tracing the influence of logical positivism and linguistic analysis on behaviorism and initially exploring the main elements of philosophical behaviorism and Ryle’s behaviorism.The third part provides Ryle’s solution to the problem of his mind by rejecting Descartes’ theory of the mind and paying attention to sentences containing mental predicates which,in his view,are not only physical acts but intellectual acts.The fourth part is a questioning of and response to philosophical behaviorism and Ryle.One of the fiercest criticisms lies in behaviorism’s contempt for the particular state of consciousness,the feeling quality,which is subjectively felt by the individual.In the face of these challenges,it is possible to return to Ryle’s work to find answers,to show that so-called sensations are not objects of observation,that the deceptions that are criticised are merely an empty threat,and finally to redefine introspection and self-consciousness.The concluding section concludes with a summary of the whole text.