Dictionary

epiphenomenalism en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɑ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm/ (General-American)
• /ˌɛ.pi.fəˌnɒ.mə.nəˈlɪ.zəm/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi Proto-Hellenic *epí Ancient Greek ἐπί (epí) Ancient Greek ἐπῐ- (epĭ-)der. English epi- Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰh₂nyéti Proto-Hellenic *pʰáňňō Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō) Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon)bor. Late Latin phaenomenonder. English phenomenon Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al ▲ Ancient Greek φαινόμενον (phainómenon)bor. French phénomène ▲ Old French -al Middle French -al French -al French phénoménalbor. English phenomenal English epiphenomenal Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English epiphenomenalism From epiphenomenal + -ism. Coined by English psychologist James Ward in 1899.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The doctrine that consciousness, mental states and processes are simply by-products of physiological events in the brain or nervous system and cannot themselves cause anything, whether material or immaterial.
   • More intriguing is epiphenomenalism. Just as the shadow of a running horse appears to run along with it but plays no causal role in the running, consciousness may simply accompany certain brain events but not itself have a function. 2001, Colin Blakemore, Shelia Jennett, editors, The Oxford Companion to the Body, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 175, column 3:
   • The textbook account of epiphenomenalism goes something like this. Although our thoughts, desires, and other mental states seem to affect what happens in the world, by bringing about changes in our behavior or subsequent mental states, this is only an appearance, cast off by the real physical sequence of cause and effect that underlies our mental life. 1997, Victor Caston, “Epiphenomenalisms, Ancient and Modern”, in The Philosophical Review, volume 106, number 3, page 310:
   • According to epiphenomenalism, physical properties of the brain cause non-physical properties of the brain, but not vice versa. 2005, Ian Ravenscroft, Philosophy of Mind: A Beginner's Guide, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 19:
   • In the eyes of epiphenomenalism, anger does not cause one to shout nor does grief cause one to cry; the feelings are by-products of the underlying physical causes and nothing more.
2. (countable) Such a doctrine, as advanced by a particular thinker or school of thought.
   • The theory of emergent evolution has been largely developed as a corrective of mechanistic theories with their attendant psycho-physical dualisms and epiphenomenalisms. 1926, Stephen C. Pepper, “Emergence”, in The Journal of Philosophy, volume 23, number 9, page 241:

Forms

Hypernyms

property dualism

Relateds

epiphenomenal (see under derived terms) · materialism · interactionism · parallelism · substance dualism

Synonyms

automatism · conscious automatism

Translations (3)

pl epifenomenalizm (doctrine) · fi epifenomenalismi (doctrine) · de Epiphänomenalismus (doctrine)