The mysterianism of Owen Flanagan's normative mind science

This article critically analyzes Owen Flanagan's physicalism and attempt at deriving ethical normativity from current neuroscience. It is argued that neurophysicalism, despite Flanagan's harsh critique of "the new mysterians," entails a form of mysterianism and that it fails to a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zygon
Main Author: Leidenhag, Mikael (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2018]
In: Zygon
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Flanagan, Owen J. 1949- / Neurosciences / Mysticism
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AE Psychology of religion
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B Consciousness
B mysterianism
B neurophysicalism
B Owen Flanagan
B Eudaimonia
B hard problem of consciousness
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:This article critically analyzes Owen Flanagan's physicalism and attempt at deriving ethical normativity from current neuroscience. It is argued that neurophysicalism, despite Flanagan's harsh critique of "the new mysterians," entails a form of mysterianism and that it fails to appropriately ground human mentality within physicalism. Flanagan seeks to bring spirituality and a physicalist ontology together by showing how it is possible to derive an account of the good life from science. This attempt is critiqued and it is shown that Flanagan fails to establish the consistency between ethical normativity and physicalism. Hence, another form of mysterianism seems to emerge within this normative mind science.
ISSN:1467-9744
Contains:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12381