Definitions > Functionalism
According to functionalism, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of.
Functionalism is a theory about the nature of mental states. According to functionalism, mental states are identified by what they do rather than by what they are made of. This can be understood by thinking about artifacts like mousetraps and keys. In particular, the original motivation for functionalism comes from the helpful comparison of minds with computers. But that is only an analogy. The main arguments for functionalism depend on showing that it is superior to its primary competitors: identity theory and behaviorism. Contrasted with behaviorism, functionalism retains the traditional idea that mental states are internal states of thinking creatures. Contrasted with identity theory, functionalism introduces the idea that mental states are multiply realized.
Objectors to functionalism generally charge that it classifies too many things as having mental states, or at least more states than psychologists usually accept. The effectiveness of the arguments for and against functionalism depends in part on the particular variety in question, and whether it is a stronger or weaker version of the theory. This article explains the core ideas behind functionalism and surveys the primary arguments for and against functionalism.
In one version or another, functionalism remains the most widely accepted theory of the nature of mental states among contemporary theorists. Nevertheless, in view of the difficulties of working out the details of functionalist theories, some philosophers have been inclined to offer supervenience theories of mental states as alternatives to functionalism.
Source: https://iep.utm.edu/functism/
Phenomenal consciousness is not an ontologically fundamental feature of the universe; rather, it’s something we attribute to physical systems when we take a “phenomenal stance” toward them. This piece outlines some general ways in which we might formalize our intuitions about which physical entities are conscious to what degrees. In particular, we can invoke many traditional theories of consciousness from the philosophy of mind, such as identity theory and functionalism, as frameworks for sentience attribution. Functionalism faces a problem of indeterminacy about what abstract computation a physical system is implementing, and one possible resolution is to weigh different interpretations based on their simplicity, reliability, counterfactual robustness, and other factors.
Source: https://reducing-suffering.org/interpret-physical-system-mind/
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