The Unconscious Mind Worry: A Mechanistic-Explanatory Strategy. Issue 1 (22nd January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Krickel, Beate
• Is Part Of: Philosophy of science. Volume 90:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 39
• Page End: 59
• Publication Date: 2023-01-22
• Subjects: Science -- Periodicals; Science -- Philosophy; Science; Science -- Philosophy; Philosophie des sciences; Epistemology; Periodicals; 501
• DOI: 10.1017/psa.2022.18
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1539-767X

Abstract

Abstract: Recent findings in different areas of psychology and cognitive science have brought the unconscious mind back to center stage. However, the unconscious mind worry remains: What renders unconscious phenomena mental? I suggest a new strategy for answering this question, which rests on the idea that categorizing unconscious phenomena as "mental" should be scientifically useful relative to the explanatory research goals. I argue that this is the case if by categorizing an unconscious phenomenon as "mental" one picks out explanatorily relevant similarities to a corresponding paradigmatically mental conscious phenomenon. Explanatory relevance is spelled out in terms of mechanistic norms.