# Eliminative Materialism Eliminative materialism argues that [[Folk Psychology]]—our everyday framework of beliefs, desires, and intentions—is a false theory that neuroscience will eventually replace. Just as "phlogiston" and "demonic possession" were eliminated from science, concepts like "belief" and "desire" may not map onto real brain states and will be discarded. Chief proponents are [[Paul Churchland]] and Patricia Churchland. The view is radical: it doesn't reduce mental states to brain states (like identity theory) but claims mental state categories don't exist at all. Critics argue eliminativism is self-refuting (you must believe eliminativism is true), ignores successful folk-psychological prediction, and is implausible as a prediction about future science. The debate turns on whether neuroscience will vindicate or eliminate mental state concepts. ## Key Claims | Claim | Implication | |-------|-------------| | Folk psychology is a theory | It could be false | | It will be replaced | By neuroscience | | Mental states don't exist | As folk psychology describes them | ## References - Churchland, Paul. "Eliminative Materialism and the Propositional Attitudes" (1981) - Churchland, Patricia. *[[Neurophilosophy]]* (1986) ## Related - [[Paul Churchland]] - [[Folk Psychology]] - [[Neurophilosophy]] - [[Philosophy of Mind]] - [[Connectionism]]