A-LEVEL PHILOSOPHY · AQA 7172 · PAPER 2Harlington School · Philosophy · Metaphysics of Mind

Functionalism: the map

Same job, same mind — that is the promise. Kind one: the job done with no FEEL. Kind two: the job done with no MEANING.

The
big
question

Is a mental state defined by the job it does — its causes, its effects and its links to other mental states — rather than by what it is made of?

How it is examined: five questions — 3 · 5 · 5 · 12 · 25 marks. The Year 12 December test is Q01–Q04; the 25-mark essay is the Year 13 stretch. This unit's ladder ↓
02

The functionalism line

The unit's positions, lined up. Tap a position to see what it claims and where it is strong or weak. If you can order them, you understand them.

FUNCTION IS ALL · same job, same mindFUNCTION IS NOT ENOUGH · feel and meaning go beyond the job

Tap a circle — or use Tab and Enter — to explore each position.

The thread that ties it together

This lesson maps functionalism: the job, any stuff, and two kinds of case where the mind seems missing. Lesson 2 tests the feel; Lesson 3 tests the meaning, then weighs every theory of mind.

◀ Refer back · Eliminative materialism: the Churchlands
Is folk psychology a false theory, whose beliefs and wants brain science will one day drop?

The Churchlands said beliefs and wants may not exist. Functionalism says they do — and says what they are: states defined by the job they do.

Retrieve: Write one thing you believe and one thing you want. Under each, write what it makes you DO.
The big idea

Going from left to right, more of the mind slips out of the job. On the left, the job is the whole mind. On the right, even the feel of pain escapes it — the part some functionalists give up. In the essay, you decide where on the line the truth sits.

Look ahead · Issues facing functionalism: qualia and the China brain ▶
Could something do the same job as you and feel different — or feel nothing at all?

Next lesson tests kind one: swapped colours, the China brain and Mary. Can the job of pain ever capture how pain FEELS?

Prime: Predict: can 'what pain does' capture 'what pain feels like'? Write one sentence either way.
01

The lessons in this unit

3 lessons, taught in this order. The first is the map of the whole unit — this page mirrors it — and each lesson after it takes one part deeper. Timetabled for Track A · Spring 1 (W15–17). See the whole year plan ↗

Lesson 1 · week 15

The map: is a mind what a mind does?

Functional roles; multiple realisability; functionalism between behaviourism and identity theory; the issues previewed.

Lesson deck ↗ Booklet ↗ Podcast ♪
Lesson 2 · week 16

Issues facing functionalism: qualia and the China brain

Inverted qualia; Block's China brain; the knowledge argument against functionalism; the functionalist replies.

Lesson deck ↗ Booklet ↗ Podcast ♪
Lesson 3 · week 17

The Chinese room; weighing the metaphysics of mind

Searle's Chinese room and its replies; as-if intentionality; weighing every theory of mind against intentionality and qualia.

Lesson deck ↗ Booklet ↗ Podcast ♪
03

Four views of functionalism, side by side

Defined by the job, not by the stuff What they deny is that pain is one kind of STUFF, like one kind of brain cell. A can-opener is anything that opens cans, whatever it is made of. In the same way, pain is anything that does pain's JOB: caused by damage, making you want it to stop, making you wince. So a mind could be made of brain cells, silicon chips or something alien. But this lesson meets two kinds of case where the job is done and the mind seems missing. Kind one: no FEEL — nothing hurts (the China brain). Kind two: no MEANING — nothing is understood (the Chinese room).

Kind one

The job, not the stuff

A mental state is defined by its job — but a whole nation can do the job of pain, and nothing seems to hurt.
1A mental state is defined by its job: what causes it, what it causes, and how it links to other mental states.
2Pain's job: it is caused by damage; it makes you want the pain to stop; it makes you wince, hop and look at the cut.
3In the China brain, a billion people with radios do that whole job for a body standing on a nail.
4But it seems nothing feels the pain. So the job leaves out the FEEL. That is what makes it kind one.
Strength It explains why pain CAUSES what we do. Pain is a real state inside you that makes you wince — not just the wincing. And any creature that does the job can be in pain.
Weakness It looks at what pain DOES, not what it FEELS like. The China brain does the whole job, and it seems nothing is felt. If the feel is part of pain, the job is not enough.
Kind two

Any stuff, the right program

One mind can be made of many kinds of stuff — but a room can run a Chinese program and understand nothing.
1Multiple realisability: the same mind could be made of brain cells, silicon or alien stuff, if it does the same job.
2A mind is like software and the brain like hardware. So the right program, on any machine, would be a mind.
3In the Chinese room, a man follows a rule book and sends out perfect Chinese answers. The room passes Turing's test.
4But the man understands nothing, and Searle says the room does not either. The MEANING is missing. That is kind two.
Strength It is fair to creatures unlike us. An octopus, an alien or a future robot could be in pain or believe things. Identity theory said only brains like ours could — functionalism does not.
Weakness Running a program is just following rules for shapes. The Chinese room follows the rules perfectly, and it seems nothing understands. If meaning is part of a mind, the program is not enough.
Both kinds

Same job, different mind

Build a twin that does the same job as a mind — then take away the feel, or the meaning.
1Every issue builds a twin that does exactly the same job as a normal mind: same inputs, same outputs, same links inside.
2Kind one: the twin's FEEL is different or missing — the swapped colours, the China brain, Mary.
3Kind two: the twin's MEANING is missing — the Chinese room follows the rules but understands nothing.
4If even one such twin is possible, a mental state is not just its job.
Strength It shows exactly what would break functionalism: one possible twin with the same job and a different mind. The cases are clear and easy to test in class.
Weakness Every twin is strange: a nation with radios, a man in a room. We cannot check these cases in real life, so all we have are our gut feelings about them.
The challenge

Is the gut feeling right?

The twins only work if we are sure their minds are missing. Are we — or is it prejudice?
1A twin only breaks functionalism if its mind is CLEARLY missing — and that rests on a gut feeling.
2The gut feeling may be prejudice: we have only ever met minds in brains, so other stuff looks wrong.
3Block admits a grey brain is no more obvious a home for feeling than a crowd of little people.
4Reply: Searle says minds need living brains. And the Chinese room still seems clear: rules are not meaning.
Strength It shows what every issue rests on: a gut feeling about strange cases. If the feeling is only prejudice, functionalism survives every twin.
Weakness Some cases still seem clear. Almost nobody thinks the man in the room understands Chinese. And Searle gives a reason, not just a feeling: rules for shapes never give meaning.
04

Six test cases — the job or the stuff?

Every position in this unit is tested on cases. Read each one, decide what you would say, then tap for the question the examiners would ask.

05

Talk it through — four moves

Say it before you write it. Four moves, with the sentence stems the examiners are listening for in your essay — connect, challenge, weigh, reason from cases.

Connect
“This connects to … because …”
“That is the same move as … made in …”
This unit · Put the China brain next to the Chinese room. In both, the job is done. Say what is DIFFERENT: what goes missing in each one — the feel, or the meaning? Could one reply save both?
Challenge
“The weakest step is … because …”
“That only follows if … — and it might not.”
This unit · Take the China brain. Block needs you to say: 'nothing feels pain'. Do you agree? If you would keep your mind with a head full of fleas, why not the nation?
Weigh
“Even granting …, … — so on balance …”
“The cost of that reply is …”
This unit · Say some functionalists give up on feel but keep the theory for beliefs and wants. Is that a fix — or giving up? How much of the mind is left?
Reason from cases
“In case A …; in B …; so in general …”
“The case that breaks the pattern is …”
This unit · Go through the six cases. For each one say: does the JOB matter, or the STUFF? Say the rule you found. Then find the case where your rule feels wrong.
Protocol Pairs 2 min → fours 3 min → two speakers to the front. Roles: Proposer · Challenger · Judge · Reporter. Rule: every reply begins by restating what you heard. · 8 min
06

The exam ladder — this unit's mock

Five rungs, one per question type. Open a rung for the shape a full answer takes and this unit's plan, then write. Everyone climbs Q01–Q04; Q05 is the stretch.

Q013 marks · Define
What is meant by 'multiple realisability'?SHAPE One precise sentence a philosopher would accept
The shape of a full answer
  1. One precise sentence
  2. A contrast or example if it earns clarity
  3. No evaluation, no history — stop
Your plan — this unit
  1. The claim that one type of mental state could be realised by different physical states in different creatures or systems — e.g. pain in humans, octopuses or machines.
Write it — about 2 lines
0 words · nothing here is saved — copy it into your book
Q025 marks · Outline
Outline the functionalist account of mental states.SHAPE Every part the specification names, in order
The shape of a full answer
  1. State the view or distinction in full
  2. Use the technical vocabulary exactly
  3. Order it: claim → the parts → what follows
Your plan — this unit
  1. A mental state is defined by its causal role: typical inputs, typical outputs, links to other states
  2. E.g. pain as damage detector
  3. Realisable in many materials.
Write it — about 4 lines
0 words · nothing here is saved — copy it into your book
Q035 marks · Explain
Explain how functionalism avoids the 'chauvinism' of type identity theory.SHAPE Set-up → premises → conclusion
The shape of a full answer
  1. Set-up: name the target — which view, which claim
  2. Premises: state them in order, numbered
  3. Conclusion: show it follows, and what it costs
Your plan — this unit
  1. Identity theory ties pain to one brain state, denying it to differently built creatures
  2. Functionalism ties pain to a role any suitable system can fill.
Write it — about 5 lines
0 words · nothing here is saved — copy it into your book
Q0412 marks · Explain
Explain functionalism and how it differs from philosophical behaviourism.SHAPE Two linked explanations, both full
The shape of a full answer
  1. Part A: the view or argument, in full
  2. Part B: the issue or reply, with its own premises and conclusion
  3. The link: one sentence on what B does to A
  4. Mostly AO1 — explain, do not judge; the verdict waits for the essay
Your plan — this unit
  1. Both relational and public
  2. Behaviourism: states = behavioural dispositions
  3. Functionalism: states are inner causes, defined as a network
  4. So it handles super-spartans and circularity.
Write it — about 8 lines
0 words · nothing here is saved — copy it into your book
Q0525 marks · Evaluate
Is functionalism the most convincing physicalist account of the mind?SHAPE A sustained argument to a judgement
The shape of a full answer
  1. Introduction: define the term, state your thesis, name the positions you will test
  2. Each paragraph: state the argument · test it with the strongest objection · reply · WEIGH
  3. One shared case, run through every position
  4. Judgement: what survives, and what the losing views cannot explain
Your plan — this unit
  1. Thesis
  2. Causal role and multiple realisability
  3. Advantages over behaviourism and identity theory
  4. Qualia issues and the Chinese room
  5. Replies
  6. Judgement.
Write it — about 10 lines to plan, then the essay in your book
0 words · nothing here is saved — copy it into your book
Beyond the ladder: Every issue in this unit describes a functional duplicate with a different mental life. Predict which duplicate case you expect to be hardest for functionalism to answer.
07

Your resources

Everything for the unit, in one place. The lesson, the booklet and the podcast belong to this unit; the Metaphysics of Mind booklets runs across the whole series.

Teacher setup: links aren't set yet. Open this file, find the LINKS list near the bottom, and paste each SharePoint share link once. Buttons with no link show as "Link not set".
✓Revise & mock — per lesson: the episode, three games, and every past-paper question with the shape of a full answer↗🎮The Arena — six games on the words, positions, arguments and verdicts of this unit: Bronze, Silver, Gold; objective and evaluative tracks↗✓Your Companion — tick what you understand, see what you have done in the Arena, place yourself and choose your next move; print it for your teacher↗▲Intervention — E–D to C, C to B, B to A*: the four moves for your tier, with drills, model answers at every level and Coach Owl↗ ▣Lesson deck — the slides, with the four positions, the cases and the ladder↗ ✎Completion booklet — greyscale, mirrors the lesson — fill it as you go↗ ♪Lesson podcast — a teacher and a student argue the unit through to a judgement↗ ≡Podcast transcript — read along, or read instead↗ 🦉Metaphysics of Mind booklets — checklist, key words, review workbook and the Q01–Q05 planner↗ ♪Overview podcast — the whole series as one argument (team teach)↗ ◎NotebookLM pack — make your own podcast from the unit's sources↗ ▤Printable flashcards — fold-over cards to cut out↗ ▶Revision playlist — the YouTube playlist for the course↗
08

How to revise this unit

Use the resources in this order. The Metaphysics of Mind booklets is where you learn to plan all five question types.

Listen to the podcast, then read the transcript

A teacher and a student argue every position through to a judgement. Pause at each position and say what it claims before they do.

Complete the booklet

Given text on the left, your words on the right. Decide the strength and the weakness YOU would give each position.

Flip the flashcards until every term is one sentence

Key terms first, then the positions. A term you cannot define in one sentence is a Q01 you cannot yet answer.

Climb the ladder: Q01 to Q04 from a plan

Precision questions. Open each rung, plan from the shape, write, then check every part the specification names is there.

Plan Q05 with one shared case

In the Companion: Part 4, the Q05 planning frame. Plan today's Q05 — thesis, causal role, advantages over rivals, the issues, judgement.

Q01–Q04 · 3, 5, 5 and 12 marks · precision
Q01 Define — one precise sentence a philosopher would accept. No evaluation, no history.
Q02 Outline — every part the specification names, in order, in the technical vocabulary.
Q03 Explain — set-up, premises in order, conclusion — and what it costs the target.
Q04 Explain … and … — two full explanations and the one sentence that links them. Still AO1: explain, do not judge.
Q05 · 25 marks · AO2 is 20 of them
What it is — a sustained argument to a judgement. Every paragraph states an argument, tests it, replies, and WEIGHS.
Aim — AO1 is telling the theory and the case clearly: the job, and the twin that does it. AO2 is asking: is the mind really missing, and how do we know? Never just say 'so functionalism is wrong' — show why.
09

Watch

Functionalism (AQA) — watch for functionalism for AQA — Sally Latham, 18:10

▶Functionalism (AQA) · 18 min
Watch for: functionalism for AQA — Sally Latham, 18:10↗▶Functionalism in two minutes · 2 min
Watch for: functionalism in two minutes — Philosophy Vibe, 2:06↗▶The course playlist (AQA)
Watch for: the whole course, episode by episode; use it when a lesson's own videos are not enough.↗
10

Flashcards — test yourself

Flip a card to check yourself. Switch between key terms (term → meaning) and positions (position → claim, strength & weakness).

Tap any card to flip ·
11

Exit ticket

Three things to recall, one to argue. Answer them in your book before you leave the unit.

Recall

  1. Say what functionalism says a mental state IS.
  2. Say what goes missing in the China brain.
  3. Say what goes missing in the Chinese room.

Challenge

Argue: If you could use only ONE case against functionalism in an essay, which would you pick — and why is it the strongest?

AO1 vs AO2 AO1 is telling the theory and the case clearly: the job, and the twin that does it. AO2 is asking: is the mind really missing, and how do we know? Never just say 'so functionalism is wrong' — show why.