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Epiphenomenalism

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Epiphenomenalism is a philosophical theory on the mind–body problem in philosophy of mind. It holds that subjective mental events are completely dependent for their existence on corresponding physical and biochemical events within the human body, but do not themselves influence physical events. According to epiphenomenalism, the appearance that subjective mental states (such as thoughts and intentions) are causally effective themselves and directly influence physical events is an illusion generated by brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex, with consciousness itself being a by-product of physical states of the world. For instance, the emotion of fear seems to make the heart beat faster, but according to epiphenomenalism the biochemical secretions of the brain and nervous system (such as the stress hormone adrenaline)—not the subjective experience of fear itself—is what causes the rapid rise in heartbeat. Because mental events are a kind of overflow that cannot cause anything physical, yet have non-physical properties, epiphenomenalism has traditionally been viewed as a form of property dualism. In contemporary thought, there are a number of epiphenomenalistic questions that arise within a broadly materialist monism.

Epiphenomenalism - Wikipedia Jump to content From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Position on the mind–body problem This article needs more citations . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . Find sources: "Epiphenomenalism" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( June 2026 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Epiphenomenalism is a philosophical theory on the mind–body problem in philosophy of mind . It holds that subjective mental events are completely dependent for their existence on cor

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