Understanding Human Nature: Monism, Dualism, and Emergentism

Posted on Jan 8, 2025 in Philosophy and ethics

Understanding Human Nature

The Problem

One of the central problems in the history of Western thought has been clarifying the nature of human beings. Following Kant, every inquiry into the human condition ultimately seeks to answer one fundamental question: What kind of being is a human?

Proposed Solutions

Analyzing the various responses to this question from a global perspective, we can identify three primary types of solutions: monism, dualism, and emergentism.

Monism

Monism asserts that only one kind of reality exists, and everything else is merely a manifestation of that fundamental substance.

There are two main types of monism:

  • Spiritualism: This view posits that all reality is a manifestation of a spiritual substance. Notable proponents include Hegel and Berkeley.
  • Materialism: Materialistic monism generally advocates for a reductionist explanation of phenomena, meaning that a particular phenomenon is only a manifestation of another, more fundamental one.

Representatives of materialistic monism include:

  • Theory of Identity (Feigl): Originating from physicalism (the scientific current proposing physical reality as the sole existing and knowable reality), this theory argues that physical and mental phenomena are both manifestations of matter. Consciousness, mind, and soul are merely different terms referring to the only existing reality: the brain.
  • Theory of Neural Firing (Crick)
  • Theory of the Central State (Armstrong)
  • Theory of Eliminative Materialism (Churchland): This theory not only claims that humans can be explained solely through the substance of matter but also denies the existence of mental states that could be reduced to material states. Terms like “emotion,” “feelings,” and “sensations” are considered empty words, products of ignorance about the true nature of our minds. These terms are attributed to a pre-scientific and wholly inaccurate “folk psychology.”
  • Cyber-Materialist Theory (Turing)

Dualism

Dualism has been a prominent position throughout the history of thought, from mythology to the present day. It posits the existence of two distinct realities: a spiritual one (soul) and a material one (body).

Many philosophers have upheld this duality:

  • Plato maintained the existence of these two elements, albeit in an accidental union.
  • Aristotle also affirmed this duality, considering the soul an immortal principle.

Dualism has also found proponents in modern times. For example, Descartes proposed the existence of two substances in humans.

Some examples of modern dualist theories include:

  • Substantialist Dualism (Penfield): This theory compares the brain to hardware and the mind to software.
  • Functionalism (Fodor)
  • Interactionist Dualism (J. Eccles): In his 1977 book co-authored with Karl Popper, The Self and Its Brain, Eccles defended an emergent form of dualism. He argued that we must acknowledge the existence of a mind separate from the brain, based on at least three reasons:
    1. The mind is necessary to explain everyday phenomena like information retrieval, voluntary movements, memorization, and creative invention.
    2. The two substances, mind and brain, interact with each other. The brain influences the mind, and the mind affects the brain.
    3. To explain this interaction, Eccles postulated the concepts of “psychons” and “dendrons.” However, neither of these units has been scientifically validated.
  • Theory of Information (Chalmers)