Abstract
In his book The Structure of Behavior, the philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty proposes a solution to the mind-body problem. Merleau-Ponty argues that there is a nested hierarchy of three orders—the physical order, the biological order, and the mental order—in which each lower order composes each higher order. Through the structuration or organization of a lower order, a higher order is created. Merleau-Ponty’s solution is promising, but it leaves an explanatory chasm between the biological order and the mental order that cannot be crossed without introducing an intermediary order. I propose just that: the addition of a fourth order—the computational order—to bridge the chasm.
Recommended Citation
Eady, Yarrow
(2023)
"Climbing to Consciousness: The Mind-Body Problem and the Computational Order,"
International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities: Vol. 7:
Iss.
2, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7710/2155-4838.1120
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/ijurca/vol7/iss2/2
Article download data priot to October 2023
12