The Philosophy of Ullin Place. From Mysticism to Materialism

Summary

Ullin Place, a key figure in philosophy of mind, developed the mind-brain identity theory, which holds that mental processes are identical to brain processes. His work emerged from interests in mysticism, anthropology, and logical behaviorism. Place saw himself as a follower of Gilbert Ryle and argued that philosophical debates about consciousness are meaningless, as the problem is solved and empirical research should proceed. The paper examines how Place's biography shaped his materialistic philosophy, how his article 'Is Consciousness a Brain Process?' connects to his broader work, and how it influenced twentieth-century philosophy of mind.

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Abstract

Ullin Place was an extraordinary person. From his early interest in mysticism he later turned to anthropology, which in turn brought him to logical behaviorism. While working on the improvement of logical behaviorism Place formulated the thesis of mind-brain identity, and has thereby founded the identity theory, which is still one of the most influential approaches in contemporary philosophy of mind. At the same time Place continued to see himself as Gilbert Ryle’s follower; he insisted that the ongoing discussions about the metaphysics of consciousness are meaningless because the philosophical problem is already solved and the time for empirical research has come. The paper shows how Place’s biography was interrelated with the development of his materialistic philosophy, how his article “Is Consciousness a Brain Process?” relates to the rest of his work, and how this article has influenced the debates in philosophy of mind in the second half of the twentieth century.

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