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ghost in the machine

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Coined by British philosopherGilbert Ryle in 1949.

ghost in the machine (pluralghosts in the machineorghosts in machines)

(philosophy) Thementalactivity that occurs inparallel withphysicalaction, but with no known way for the two tointeract, according to the theories ofmind-bodydualism.
- 1949,Gilbert Ryle,The Concept of Mind, Hutchinson,page22:
  Now the dogma of theGhost in the Machine does just this. It maintains that there exist both bodies and minds; that there occur physical processes and mental processes; that there are mechanical causes of corporeal movements and mental causes of corporeal movements.
- 2002,Steven Pinker, chapter 1, inThe Blank Slate, Penguin,→ISBN,page10:
  The doctrines of the Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and theGhost in the Machine—or, as philosophers call them, empiricism, romanticism, and dualism—are logically independent, but in practice they are often found together.