TheOfficialDoctrineThere isadoctrine about thenature andplaceof minds whichis soprevalentamongtheoristsandevenamongaymenthat itdeserves o bedescribedas he officialtheory.Mostphilosophers psychologistsandreligiousteachers ubscribe withminorreservations,to its mainarticles and,althoughtheyadmit certaintheoretical difficulties in it,theytend to assume hatthese canbe overcomewithoutseriousmodificationsbeingmadeo thearchitectureof thetheory. It willbearguedhere that thecentralprinciplesofthe doctrine areunsound andconflict with thewholebodyof whatwe knowaboutminds whenwe are notspeculatingabout them.The officialdoctrine,which hailschieflyfromDescartes issomethingikethis. Withthedoubtfulexceptionsof idiots andinfants inarmseveryhumanbeinghas bothabodyand amind.Somewouldprefertosaythateveryhumanbeingis both abodyand a mind.Hisbodyandhis mindareordinarilyharnessedtogether,but after thedeathof thebodyhismindmaycontinue o existand function.Humanbodies are nspaceand aresubjecto themechanicalaws whichgovernallother bodies nspace Bodilyprocesses andstatescan beinspectedbyexternalobservers.Soa mansbodilylife isas much apublicaffairasarethe lives ofanimalsandreptilesand evenas he careersf trees crystalsandplanetsButminds arenotinspace nor are theiroperationssubjectomechanicalaws. Theworkingsof one mind arenotwitnessablebyotherobservers itscareer sprivate.OnlyIcan takedirectcognisanceof thestates andprocesses ofmyownmind. Apersontherefore ivesthroughtwocollateralhistories oneconsistingof whathappensn andto hisbody,theotherconsistingof whathappensn andto his mind.The first ispublic,thesecondprivate.The events nthe firsthistoryare events nthephysicalworld,thoseinthesecondare events nthe mentalworld.Ithasbeendisputedwhether apersondoes orcandirectlymonitor all oronlysomeoftheepisodesof his ownprivatehistory;but,accordingto theofficialdoctrine,of atleast some oftheseepisodeshe hasdirect andunchallengeableognisanceInconsciousness self-consciousness ndintrospectionhe isdirectlyandauthenticallyapprisedof thepresentstatesandoperationsof hismind. Hemayhavegreator smalluncertaintiesaboutconcurrent andadjacentepisodesnthephysicalworld,but he canhave none about atleastpartof whatis momentarilyoccupyinghis mind.Itiscustomaryoexpresshisbifurcation of histwo lives andof his twoworldsbysayingthatthethingsand eventswhichbelongto thephysicalworld,includinghisownbody,are external whiletheworkingsof his own mindare nternal.Thisantithesisof outer andinner isof coursemeantto beconstruedas ametaphor sinceminds,notbeinginspace couldnot bedescribedasbeingspatiallyinsideanythingelse orashaving thingsgoingonspatiallyinsidethemselves Butrelapsesromthisgoodintentionarecommon andtheoristsarefoundspeculatinghow stimuli,thephysicalsources

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Chapter6Descartes MythGilbertRyle

of which areyardsormiles outsideaperson's skin,cangeneratementalresponsesinsidehis skull,or how decisionsframed inside his cranium can setgoingmovements of hisextremities.Even when'inner' and'outer'are construed asmetaphors,theproblemhowaper-son's mind andbodyinfluence one another isnotoriouslychargedwith theoreticaldifficulties. Whatthe mind wills,thelegs,arms and thetongueexecute;what affects theear and theeyehassomethingto dowithwhat the mindperceives;grimacesand smilesbetraythe mind's moods andbodilycastigationslead,itishoped,to moralimprovement. Butthe actual transactions between theepisodesof theprivatehistoryandthoseof thepublichistoryremainmysterious,sincebydefinitiontheycanbelongto neitherseries.Theycould not bereported amongthehappeningsdescribed in a.person'sautobiographyof his inner life,butnor couldtheybereported amongthose describedin some one else'sbiographyof thatperson's overt career.Theycan beinspectedneitherbyintrospectionnorby laboratoryexperiment.Theyare theoretical shuttlecockswhich are foreverbeingbandied from thephysiologistback to thepsychologistandfrom thepsychologistback to thephysiologist.Underlyingthispartlymetaphorical representationof thebifurcation ofaperson'stwo lives there isaseeminglymoreprofoundandphilosophicalassumption. It isassumed that there aretwo different kinds of existence or status. What existsorhappensmayhave the status ofphysicalexistence,oritmayhave the status of mentalexistence.Somewhat asthefaces of coins are either heads or tails,orsomewhat aslivingcreatures are either male orfemale,so,itissupposed,someexistingisphysicalexisting,otherexistingis mentalexisting. It is anecessaryfeatureofwhathasphysicalexistencethat itisinspaceand time,it is anecessaryfeature of what has mentalexistence that it is in time butnotinspace. What hasphysicalexistenceiscomposedofmatter,or else isafunction of matter;what has mentalexistence consists of consciousness,or else is a function ofconsciousness.There is thusapolar oppositionbetween mind and matter,anoppositionwhich isoftenbroughtoutas follows.Materialobjectsare situatedina common field,known as'space',and whathappensto onebodyin onepartofspaceismechanicallyconnectedwith whathappensto other bodiesinotherpartsofspace. But mentalhappeningsoccurininsulated fields,known as'minds',and there is,apartmaybefromtelepathy,no directcausal connection between whathappensinone mind and whathappensin another.Onlythroughthe medium of thepublicphysicalworld can the mind of onepersonmakeadifference to the mind of another. The mind is its ownplaceand inhis inner lifeeach ofus lives thelife ofaghostlyRobinson Crusoe.Peoplecan see,hear andjoltoneanother's bodies,buttheyareirremediablyblind and deaf to theworkingsof oneanother's minds andinoperativeuponthem.What sort ofknowledgecan be secured of theworkingsof a mind?Ontheone side,accordingto the officialtheory,apersonhasdirectknowledgeof the bestimaginablekindof theworkingsof his own mind. Mentalstates andprocesses are(or arenormally)conscious states andprocesses,and theconsciousness which irradiates them canengenderno illusions andleaves the dooropenfor no doubts. Aperson'spresentthinkings,feelingsandwillings,hisperceivings,rememberingsandimaginingsareintrinsically'phosphorescent';their existence and theirnature areinevitably betrayedto theirowner. The inner life is astream of consciousness of such a sort that it would be absurdtosuggestthat the mind whose lifeisthatstreammightbe unaware of what ispassingdownit.True,the evidenceadducedrecently byFreud seems to show that there exist channelstributarytothis stream,which run hiddenfrom their owner.Peopleare actuatedby24GilbertRyle

impulseshe existenceof whichtheyvigorouslydisavow;someoftheirthoughtsdifferfromthethoughtswhichtheyacknowledge andsome of theactions whichtheythinktheywill toperformtheydo notreallywill.Theyarethoroughlygulledbysome oftheir ownhypocrisiesandtheysuccessfullyignorefactsabout their mentalives whichon theofficialtheoryoughtto bepatentto them.Holders of theofficialtheorytend,however,to maintain thatanyhowinnormalcircumstancespersonmust bedirectlyandauthenticallyseizedof thepresentstate andworkingsof his own mind.Besideseingcurrentlysuppliedwith theseallegedmmediatedataof consciousnessapersonsalsogenerallysupposedo be able to exerciserom time to time aspecialkind ofperception namelyinnerperception orintrospection. He can take a(nonoptical)1ook atwhat ispassingnhis mind. Notonlycan he view andscrutinizea flowerthroughhissenseofsightand listento anddiscriminate he notes of abellthroughhissenseofhearing;he can alsoreflectivelyorintrospectivelywatch,withoutany bodilyorganof sense thecurrentepisodesofhis inner life.This self-observation salsocommonlysupposedo be immunefromillusion,confusion ordoubt. A mind'sreportsof its ownaffairs have acertaintysuperiorto the best thatispossessedyitsreportsofmattersnthephysicalworld. Senseperceptionscan,butconsciousness ndintrospectioncannot,be mistakenor confusedOn the otherside,onepersonhas no directaccess fanysort tothe events of theinner life ofanother. He cannotdo better thanmakeproblematicnferences romtheobservedbehaviour of theotherperson'sbodyto thestatesof mindwhich,byanalogyfrom his ownconduct,hesupposeso besignalisedbythatbehaviour.Direct accessotheworkingsof a mindis theprivilegeof that minditself;indefaultof suchprivilegedaccess theworkingsof one mindareinevitablyoccult toeveryoneelse For thesupposedargumentsfrombodilymovements similarto their own tomentalworkingssimilar to theirown wouldlackanypossibilityofobservationalcorroboration.Notunnaturally,therefore anadherent of theofficialtheoryfinds itdifficult to resistthisconsequencef hispremisses that hehas nogoodreason o believe hatthere do existminds other thanhis own. Even f heprefersobelieve hat to other humanbodies hereareharnessedminds not unlikehis own,hecannot claim tobe able to discovertheirindividualcharacteristics or theparticularthingsthattheyundergoand do.Absolutesolitude ison thisshowingthe ineluctabledestinyof thesoul.Onlyourbodies canmeet.Asanecessaryorollaryof thisgeneralschemehere simplicitly prescribedaspecialwayofconstruingourordinaryconceptsofmentalpowersandoperationsTheverbs,nouns andadjectives withwhichinordinarylifewe describe he wits,characters ndhigher-gradeperfonnancesof thepeoplewithwhom we havedo,arerequiredtobeconstruedassignifyingspecialepisodesntheir secrethistories or else assignifyingtendencies or suchepisodeso occur.When someone sdescribedasknowing,believingorguessingsomething ashoping, dreadingintendingorshirkingsomething asdesigningthis orbeingamusedat that,theseverbs aresupposedodenote the occur-rence ofspecificmodifications nhis(to us)occult streamof consciousnessOnlyhisownprivilegedaccess o thisstream ndirectawareness ndintrospectioncouldprovideauthenticestimonythatthesemental-conductverbs werecorrectlyorincorrectlyapplied. Theonlooker,be heteacher critic,biographerorfriend,call neverassurehimself thathis commentshaveanyvestigeof truth. Yet itwasjustbecausewe doinfact all knowhow to makesuchcomments makehem withgeneralcorrectness ndcorrect them whentheyturnout to beconfusedormistaken thatphilosophersound itnecessaryoconstruct theirtheoriesof thenature andplaceofminds.Findingmental-conductconceptsbeing regularlyandeffectivelyused theyproperly soughtto fixtheir