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Functionalism

In the philosophy of mind, functionalism is the doctrine that holds mental states as not dependent upon internal constitution, but on function - the role a mental state plays in the system. Functionalism is rooted in Aristotle's conception of the soul, and in Hobbes' conception of the computational mind. And while functionalism has remained neutral between the philosophies of materialism and dualism, it can be compatible with either view in certain applications.

Functionalist theories take various positions on the nature of the system (mind), distinguished primarily by how restrictive the use of functional analysis is in the context of what it attempts to explain. Because mental states are not limited to a particular medium of the physical substrate that produces them, functionalist explanations of such states can be applied to non-biological systems such as computers.

Machine-state functionalism was inspired by the noted analogies between minds and a theoretical computing machine that is capable of computing any given algorithm, such as the universal Turing Machine developed by Alan Turing.

Web Resources On Functionalism

Functionalism
What is Functionalism?
Functionalism (philosophy of mind)

Book Resources On Functionalism

Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior by Robert J. Richards
The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory by David J. Chalmers
Mind, Brain, Behavior: The Mind-Body Problem & the Philosophy of Psychology by Martin Carrier and Juergen Mittelstrass

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