Non-reductive Physicalism, Irreducibility of the Mental and the Problem of Mental Causation : A study of Donald Davidson's and Georg Henrik von Wright's positions in the philosophy of mind

In this study I consider what kind of perspective on the mind body problem is taken and can be taken by a philosophical position called non-reductive physicalism. Many positions fall under this label. The form of non-reductive physicalism which I discuss is in essential respects the position taken by Donald Davidson (1917-2003) and Georg Henrik von Wright (1916-2003). I defend their positions and discuss the unrecognized similarities between their views. Non-reductive physicalism combines two theses: (a) Everything that exists is physical; (b) Mental phenomena cannot be reduced to the states of the brain. This means that according to non-reductive physicalism the mental aspect of humans (be it a soul, mind, or spirit) is an irreducible part of the human condition. Also Davidson and von Wright claim that, in some important sense, the mental aspect of a human being does not reduce to the physical aspect, that there is a gap between these aspects that cannot be closed. I claim that their arguments for this conclusion are convincing. I also argue that whereas von Wright and Davidson give interesting arguments for the irreducibility of the mental, their physicalism is unwarranted. These philosophers do not give good reasons for believing that reality is thoroughly physical. Notwithstanding the materialistic consensus in the contemporary philosophy of mind the ontology of mind is still an uncharted territory where real breakthroughs are not to be expected until a radically new ontological position is developed. The third main claim of this work is that the problem of mental causation cannot be solved from the Davidsonian - von Wrightian perspective. The problem of mental causation is the problem of how mental phenomena like beliefs can cause physical movements of the body. As I see it, the essential point of non-reductive physicalism - the irreducibility of the mental - and the problem of mental causation are closely related. If mental phenomena do not reduce to causally effective states of the brain, then what justifies the belief that mental phenomena have causal powers? If mental causes do not reduce to physical causes, then how to tell when - or whether - the mental causes in terms of which human actions are explained are actually effective? I argue that this - how to decide when mental causes really are effective - is the real problem of mental causation. The motivation to explore and defend a non-reductive position stems from the belief that reductive physicalism leads to serious ethical problems. My claim is that Davidson's and von Wright's ultimate reason to defend a non-reductive view comes back to their belief that a reductive understanding of human nature would be a narrow and possibly harmful perspective. The final conclusion of my thesis is that von Wright's and Davidson's positions provide a starting point from which the current scientistic philosophy of mind can be critically further explored in the future.

Häiritsevän erilaiset : Työnvieroksunta Helsingissä 1946 - 1948

Tutkielma käsittelee viime sotien jälkeisiä sosiaalisia ongelmia niin sanotun pinnarilain kautta. Laki työtä vieroksuvien henkilöiden määräämisestä työhön tai erikoistyölaitokseen oli voimassa 1946–1948. Tutkielma selvittää, miten viranomaiset sovelsivat pinnarilakia Helsingissä ja avaa työnvieroksunta-käsitteen sisältöä ja määrittelyä. Tutkielman näkökulma pohjautuu kontekstikonstruktivismiin. Erilaisuuden ja sosiaalisten ongelmien määrittely on jatkuvan keskustelun ja kiistelyn alainen aihepiiri, sillä kyseisissä ilmiöissä ja niiden hallinnassa törmäävät erilaiset intressit ja tavoitteet. Sosiaalisen ongelman määrittely on tulosta aktiivisesta kollektiivisesta määrittelyprosessista, johon osallistuu useita toimijoita. Koska itse laki määritteli työnvieroksunta-käsitteen ja rajasi lain soveltamisalan hyvin väljästi, paikalliset viranomaiset saivat laajat toimintavaltuudet. Tämän vuoksi on tärkeä tutkia, millaiset henkilöt koettiin ongelmallisiksi, ”häiritsevän erilaisiksi”. Tärkein lähdemateriaali työssä on kunnallisen työasiainlautakunnan laatimat henkilöaktit työnvieroksujina käsitellyistä henkilöistä. Henkilöaktit sisältävät lautakunnan omien merkintöjen lisäksi poliisin huolto-osaston, huoltolautakunnan ja lääkäreiden asiakirjoja. Systemaattisen otannan avulla akteista on koottu noin 350 henkilöaktin otos. Nämä henkilöt on jaettu neljään ryhmään sen perusteella, mitkä syyt ovat johtaneet henkilön päätymiseen pinnarikäsittelyyn. Näin muodostuneen neljän ryhmän nimet ovat rikolliset, alkoholiongelmaiset, irtolaisnaiset ja ”kunnon kansalaiset”. Ryhmiä analysoidaan vertailun ja tilastollisten menetelmien avulla. Pinnarilaki oli yhtä aikaa työmarkkina-, sosiaali- ja kontrollipolitiikkaa. Sen soveltamisessa tulivat ilmi valtion työvoimapoliittiset intressit jälleenrakentavassa ja työvoimapulasta kärsivässä maassa. Työnvieroksujien joukkoon päätyi niin yhteiskunnan syrjässä roikkuvia moniongelmaisia kuin työkyvyttömyydestä tai työn puutteesta kärsiviä tavallisia kansalaisia. Pinnarilaki sai sovellettaessa ”kaatoluokka”-luonteen: sen avulla viranomaisten kynnys puuttua epäilyttävinä pitämiensä henkilöiden elämään madaltui, sillä esimerkiksi alkoholisti- ja irtolaislainsäädännön soveltamisala oli rajatumpi. Sotatoimien päätyttyä viranomaiset kävivät taistoon yhteiskunnan sisäisiä vihollisia, kohonnutta rikollisuutta, muuttuneita moraalikäsityksiä ja lisääntynyttä päihteidenkäyttöä, vastaan. Tässä taistelussa pinnarilaki oli viranomaisten tärkein ase ja kontrollikeino.

Suomi ja Euroopan kirkollinen jälleenrakentaminen 1945-1948

The international aid that the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland received between 1945 and 1948 is the topic of this historical study, in which the process of reconstruction of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is examined in a European context. The key questions are related not only to the achievements of the reconstruction programs but also to the purposes and objectives of the donating churches. The study pays particular attention to the changes in the ecclesiastical, political and economic fields after the Second World War and asks how the tense political atmosphere of a divided world affected the reconstruction programs of the churches. It is possible to distinguish three periods within the European church reconstruction process. To begin with, the year 1945 was, in general, the year of organization. Many churches had started planning reconstruction work already during the war, but only after the conflict in Europe had ceased did they have a chance to renew contacts, assess the damage and begin operations. The years 1946 and 1947 were the main years of the work. Large reconstruction organizations from American churches donated money, food, clothes and vitamins worth millions of dollars to the European churches. The work started to diminish as early as 1948, partly because Marshall Plan aid and the rising standard of living had reduced the need for material assistance in many countries and partly because other problems overshadowed the reconstruction work of the World Council of Churches: for example, most WCC resources at this time were directed to refugee programs and to Third World churhces. The most important donors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland's point of view were the American Section of the Lutheran World Federation, the World Council of Churches and the Churches of Denmark, Sweden and England. The amount of money and value of goods received by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland totaled approximately 2.5 million dollars, from which about 60 per cent came from the Lutheran churches of America. The importance of the Lutheran World Federation was even greater because of the productive financial arrangements that increased the American Lutheran funds. In addition the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland imported hundreds of tons of tax-free coffee and sold this to Finns. The money gained was used mostly to rebuild destroyed church buildings and to support the work of different ecclesiastical organizations. Smaller amounts were used for scholarship programs, youth work, and supporting sick and disabled church workers.