preview

Gilbert Ryle's Essay 'Ghost In The Machine'

Decent Essays
Open Document

In The Ghost in the Machine essay, Gilbert Ryle asserts that Descartes makes a “category mistake” by thinking that there is something called a “mind” over a person's behavioral temperaments. A category mistake, according to Ryle, is an error in which one assigns a feature or action to something that can correctly be assigned to things only of another category. When one commits a category mistake, the person is essentially misusing a word. Ryle uses the example of a person visiting Oxford for the first time. He/she is shown the libraries, playing fields, administrative offices, etc., and then asks at the tour’s end, “but where is the university?” The visitor is treating the university as if it were part of the category of buildings, rather …show more content…

She observes her surroundings and I point out to her a multitude of people: the players performing their positional duties, Coach Mark Stoops coaching from the benches, Matt Jones on the sidelines live-tweeting about the game, and the fans cheering from the stands. At the conclusion of the game, however, my friend turns to me and asks, “but where is the element of teamwork? I see the roles of all these people, but who has the role of teamwork?” I may be tempted to explain to her that quarterback Patrick Towles is self-interested and therefore, no teamwork is present, but in actuality, my friend has made a category-mistake. She has incorrectly used the word ‘teamwork’ by claiming that it is something visible to the eye, existing in the same category as the players with their various roles. Rather, “teamwork” is an intangible and abstract element with no laws applied to it as to material …show more content…

People gather knowledge and use perceptual ideas such as conviction, longing, discomfort, rage, etc. with a huge amount of simplicity. These people must link those “feelings” to patterns that include physical behavior, which everyone can see, and not to processes in a soul which are unseen. Since we observe these patterns in one another's behavior, we can know that others have mental states like ours. Minds do not belong to the category of “thing.” Minds are not “things” according to Gilbert

Get Access