philosophical concept From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "Ghost in the Machine" is a metaphor in philosophy. The philosopher Gilbert Ryle called mind the Ghost in the Machine, and the idea that it was separate from the brain was the mistaken "official doctrine".[1][2]
Ryle was referring to René Descartes' mind-body dualism.[3] In dualist systems like Descartes', mental activity carries on in parallel to physical action, but the means of interaction are unknown or speculative.[4] Ryle thought this was absurd, and as a kind of error which he called a "category mistake". It is like saying something like "cars move by motive spirit".
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