Bieri Trilemma

A formulation of the mind-body problem is sometimes referred to as the “ Bieri Trilemma ” . The Bieri Trilemma was elaborated in 1981 by the Bernese philosopher and writer Peter Bieri in the book Analytical Philosophy of Mind . Bieri's argument relates to the problem of mental causation :

1. Mental phenomena are non-physical phenomena.
2. Mental phenomena are causally effective in the area of ​​physical phenomena.
3. The area of ​​physical phenomena is causally closed.

Each of the three assumptions seems plausible at first glance:

• The awareness shines through its internal structure - in particular by the subjective experience - different from any physical event.
• Mental phenomena (such as fear) seem quite obviously to be the cause of physical phenomena (such as running away).
• In the physical world, however, there always seem to be sufficient physical causes to be found.

According to Bieri, the trilemma consists in the fact that the sentences can be true in pairs, but not all at the same time. If mental phenomena can affect the physical world (1 and 2), then it is not closed (contradiction to 3). If, on the other hand, the mental is independent of the physical world and the physical world is causally closed (sentence 1 and sentence 3), then there can be no effect of mental phenomena on the physical world (contradiction to 2). If mental phenomena cause physical processes and the physical world is causally closed (2 and 3), then the mental must be reducible to the physical world ( reductionism , contradiction to 1).

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1. ↑ Peter Bieri: Analytical Philosophy of Mind , Königstein, Hain, ISBN 3-445-02213-5 , p. 9