Physicalism and the Via Negativa

Author: Worley, Sara

Source: Philosophical Studies, Volume 131, Number 1, October 2006 , pp. 101-126(26)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

Some philosophers have suggested that, instead of attempting to arrive at a satisfactory definition of the physical, we should adopt the `via negativa.' That is, we should take the notion of the mental as fundamental, and define the physical in contrast, as the non-mental. I defend a variant of this approach, based on some information about how children form concepts. I suggest we are hard-wired to form a concept of intentional agency from a very young age, and so there's some reason to believe that our concept of the physical does include, as part of its content, a contrast with the mental.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11098-005-5985-z

Affiliations: 1: Email: sworley@bgnet.bgsu.edu

Publication date: 2006-10-01