Abstract

of the above paper appeared in Vol 5 of the Proceedings of the 7th International Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, July 1983, Salzburg. main thesis, that of Psychophysical Interactionism. This thesis holds that mental and physical states exist, and that they interact within the brain. In this paper we will analyse their formulation of this Thesis and the evidence which they have led to support it. Popper and Ecc1es do not provide an homogeneous argument for Interactionism. On the contrary, the striking feature of their book is the very different subject matter adduced by philospher and physiologist, and the very different commitment to their conc1usion espoused by agnostic and theist. Popper is content to relate the inadequacies of materialism and to demonstrate that interactionism follows from his doctrine of the Three Worlds. He argues that mental states and consciousness are an emergent evolutionary phenomenon. Thus, animal consciousness probably exists and there is no fundamental distinction between animal and human consciousness. Ecc1es believes that God exists. His aim is to reconcile the mental states of humans with neurophysiology on the one hand, and the spiritual r~alm on the other. The belief that the spiritual aspects of