Question

1. What does Ryle mean by "the dogma of the Ghost in the Machine?"

2. What does Ryle mean by a "category mistake?"

3. According to Ryle, how does the dogma of the Ghost in the Machine involve a category mistake?

Answer 1

Ryle refers to the idea of a fundamental distinction between mind and matter as "the ghost in the machine". According to him, there is no hidden entity called the "mind" inside a mechanical apparatus called the "body". Ryle therefore attacks this idea of the immaterial mind on the basis that there is no proof for its existence. In fact, the activities of the “mind” can be explained by the physical electrochemical activity in the brain. Therefore, the conception of a “mind” as separate from the “body” is like a 'ghost in the machine' - an unnecessary explanation.

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