epiphenomenalism
Syllables: epi·phe·nom·e·nal·ismUK/ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɒ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm//ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɑ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm/
epiphenomenalism noun: the doctrine that consciousness, mental states and processes are simply by-products of physiological events in the brain or nervous system and cannot themselves cause anything, whether material or immaterial.
Noun
epiphenomenalism (countable and uncountable, plural epiphenomenalisms)
- The doctrine that consciousness, mental states and processes are simply by-products of physiological events in the brain or nervous system and cannot themselves cause anything, whether material or immaterial.
- In the eyes of epiphenomenalism, anger does not cause one to shout nor does grief cause one to cry; the feelings are by-products of the underlying physical causes and nothing more.
- The textbook account of epiphenomenalism goes something like this. Although our thoughts, desires, and other mental states seem to affect what happens in the world, by bringing about changes in our behavior or subsequent mental states, this is only an appearance, cast off by the real physical...1997, Victor Caston, “Epiphenomenalisms, Ancient and Modern”, in The Philosophical Review, volume 106, number 3, page 310
- Synonyms:
- conscious automatism, automatism
- Such a doctrine, as advanced by a particular thinker or school of thought.
- The theory of emergent evolution has been largely developed as a corrective of mechanistic theories with their attendant psycho-physical dualisms and epiphenomenalisms.1926, Stephen C. Pepper, “Emergence”, in The Journal of Philosophy, volume 23, number 9, page 241
epiphenomenalism meaning in Tamil
epiphenomenalism in Tamil
- உடல் உளத் தத்துவ விளக்கம்
Examples of epiphenomenalism in a sentence
- The textbook account of epiphenomenalism goes something like this.1997, Victor Caston, “Epiphenomenalisms, Ancient and Modern”, in The Philosophical Review, volume 106, number 3, page 310:
- According to epiphenomenalism, physical properties of the brain cause non-physical properties of the brain, but not vice versa.2005, Ian Ravenscroft, Philosophy of Mind: A Beginner's Guide, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 19:
Synonyms of epiphenomenalism
Forms of epiphenomenalism
| plural | epiphenomenalisms |
|---|
Origin of epiphenomenalism
From epiphenomenal + -ism. Coined by English psychologist James Ward in 1899.
Words that rhyme with epiphenomenalism
10 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about epiphenomenalism
- What does epiphenomenalism mean?
- Epiphenomenalism means the doctrine that consciousness, mental states and processes are simply by-products of physiological events in the brain or nervous system and cannot themselves cause anything, whether material or immaterial.
- What is epiphenomenalism in Tamil?
- Epiphenomenalism in Tamil is உடல் உளத் தத்துவ விளக்கம். See Epiphenomenalism meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use epiphenomenalism in a sentence?
- The textbook account of epiphenomenalism goes something like this.
- What part of speech is epiphenomenalism?
- Epiphenomenalism is a noun.
- How do you pronounce epiphenomenalism?
- Epiphenomenalism is pronounced /ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɒ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm/ (UK).
- What is the plural of epiphenomenalism?
- The plural of epiphenomenalism is epiphenomenalisms.
Words near epiphenomenalism in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: epiphenomenalism (page history and authors); epiphenomenalism (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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