functionalism

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the theory in philosophy of mind that mental states are defined by their functional roles — their causal relations to sensory inputs, behavioural outputs, and other mental states — rather than by their physical composition or intrinsic qualitative character; functionalism, associated with Hilary Putnam, allows for the multiple realizability of mental states across different physical systems including biological brains, silicon chips, and hypothetical alien chemistries, making it compatible with the idea that artificial systems could in principle have genuine mental states; functionalism faces challenges from the knowledge argument, the zombie argument, and China Brain thought experiments that suggest functional organisation may be insufficient to generate phenomenal consciousness