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Questions and Answers
What was the main goal of French philosophers in relation to the mind?
What was the main goal of French philosophers in relation to the mind?
- To explore the existence of a nonphysical mind
- To prove that humans are different from animals
- To explain the mind in a way that stressed its mechanical nature (correct)
- To develop a new understanding of metaphysical speculation
What did Pierre Gassendi conclude about humans?
What did Pierre Gassendi conclude about humans?
- Humans are a combination of physical and nonphysical elements
- Humans are unique and cannot be understood through mechanical laws
- Humans are purely spiritual beings
- Humans are nothing but complex, physical machines (correct)
What did Julien de La Mettrie believe about mental experiences?
What did Julien de La Mettrie believe about mental experiences?
- They are unrelated to the physical body
- They are movements of particles in the brain (correct)
- They are influenced by external factors only
- They are a product of the nonphysical mind
What was the conclusion of Julien de La Mettrie's book Man a Machine?
What was the conclusion of Julien de La Mettrie's book Man a Machine?
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Who saw humans as nothing but complex, physical machines?
Who saw humans as nothing but complex, physical machines?
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What did La Mettrie believe would result from accepting materialism?
What did La Mettrie believe would result from accepting materialism?
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What did Gassendi believe about the relationship between the mind and the brain?
What did Gassendi believe about the relationship between the mind and the brain?
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What was a key idea shared by Gassendi and Hobbes?
What was a key idea shared by Gassendi and Hobbes?
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Study Notes
French Philosophers and Materialism
- French philosophers sought to explain the mind in a way that was similar to Newton's explanation of the physical world, focusing on mechanical nature and reducing mental activity to basic elements.
- They questioned why humans should not be subject to the same mechanical laws as the rest of the universe.
Pierre Gassendi
- Believed humans are complex, physical machines, with no need to assume a nonphysical mind.
- Saw no reason to postulate an unextended (immaterial) mind to explain human activity.
- Concluded that humans are nothing but matter and can be studied and understood like any other part of the universe.
Julien de La Mettrie
- Believed humans are machines that differ from other animals only in complexity.
- Thought that sensations and thoughts are nothing but movements of particles in the brain.
- Believed that accepting materialism would result in a better, more humane world.
- Stated in "Man a Machine" (1748) that "man is a machine, and that in the whole universe there is but a single substance differently modified" (p. 148).
- Was a physical monist, believing that every existing thing, including humans, consists of matter and nothing else.
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