A
mental event is a particular occurrence of something going on in the
mindMind is the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. The term is often used to refer, by implication, to the thought processes of reason. Mind manifests itself...
or mind substitute. It can be a thought, a
dreamDreams are a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is known as...
, a feeling, a realization, or any other mental activity. Mental events are not limited to human thought but can be associated with animal and
artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it. Textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents,"...
as well.
- Mary is walking through a park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment. It may consist of, rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas....
and she seeVisual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight or vision...
s and recognizes City HallA city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a city or town's administration and usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and their employees...
. This instance of seeing and recognizing City Hall is an instance of perceptionIn philosophy, psychology, and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. It is a task far more complex than was imagined in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was predicted that building perceiving machines would take about a decade,...
—something that is supposed to be going on in Mary's mind.
Discussion
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A
mental event is a particular occurrence of something going on in the
mindMind is the aspect of intellect and consciousness experienced as combinations of thought, perception, memory, emotion, will and imagination, including all unconscious cognitive processes. The term is often used to refer, by implication, to the thought processes of reason. Mind manifests itself...
or mind substitute. It can be a thought, a
dreamDreams are a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history. The scientific study of dreams is known as...
, a feeling, a realization, or any other mental activity. Mental events are not limited to human thought but can be associated with animal and
artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science which aims to create it. Textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents,"...
as well.
Examples
- Mary is walking through a park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment. It may consist of, rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas....
and she seeVisual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight or vision...
s and recognizes City HallA city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a city or town's administration and usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and their employees...
. This instance of seeing and recognizing City Hall is an instance of perceptionIn philosophy, psychology, and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory information. It is a task far more complex than was imagined in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was predicted that building perceiving machines would take about a decade,...
—something that is supposed to be going on in Mary's mind. That instance of perception is a mental event. It is an event because it is something that happens, and it is mental because it happens in Mary's mind.
- Mary feels happy after doing well on an exam and she smile
A smile is a facial expression formed by flexing those muscles most notably near both ends of the mouth. The smile can also be found around the eyes . Among humans, it is customarily an expression denoting pleasure, happiness, or amusement, but can also be an involuntary expression of anxiety, in...
s. This thought is a mental event. The smile is a physical event.
- Deep Blue registers that its opponent has cornered its king. Deep Blue decides to take the offending chess
Chess is a board game played between two players. The current form of the game emerged in Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from a similar, much older game of Indian origin...
piece with its knight. This decision to take the offending chess piece is a mental event. The act of taking that chess piece, even if it is a virtual chess piece and board, is considered the physical event.
- A killer whale recognized a feeling of hunger. It eats a fish. The recognition of the feeling of hunger is a mental event. Eating the fish is the physical event.