A critical assessment of John Searle's understanding of biological naturalism based on Intentionality

Document Type : علمی - پژوهشی

Authors

1 Student of Philosophy, Department of Law, Theology and Political Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy, Mofid University, Qom, Iran

Abstract

By formulating the theory of biological naturalism, John Searle has tried to provide a convincing explanation for the relationship between mental states and the body (brain) and to solve the old mind-body problem. The main origin of biological naturalism is biological and physical theories, especially two theories of biological and atomic evolution of matter. According to Searle, mental states such as consciousness and intentionality are part of the natural world, and the biological processes of the brain, i.e. the processes of nerve cells, cause awareness and empathy. The purpose of this article is to critically evaluate Searle's concept of biological naturalism based on the issue related to "intentionality". Therefore, first by explaining Searle's theory of biological naturalism, it is shown that the main foundations of this theory are that all mental phenomena, such as feelings and emotions, thoughts and ideas are the result of physical and chemical processes in the brain; And mental phenomena are just the higher level features of the brain. Then, by stating the problems of this theory, it is determined whether it is possible to deal with them (problems) from the position of biological naturalism

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References

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