ABSTRACT
The mind is, according to Plato, the rational element of being, the higher order of existence that allows to transcend the physical world of appearance. Type-identity theory states that mental states are themselves merely brain processes. Token-identity theory tries to get around the problem of different thinkers experiencing different thoughts about the same thing by distinguishing between ‘type’ and ‘token’. Behaviourism claims that the mind/body problem is a pseudo-problem, a fixation on a fictitious distinction. Ryle proposed that what appears to be mental is in fact a description of a person’s public behaviour and that is an outcome of the circumstances that influence the person. Functionalism ignores the problem of the brain and its states. It concentrates on the relations between different sorts of thoughts and behaviour in much the same way that one might concentrate on the relations between different software in a computer.
