Final answer:
Reductive materialism is a philosophical stance within materialism that posits all mental processes can ultimately be explained by physical processes, denying the existence of non-physical substances. Advanced understanding of brain functions contributes to this view, challenging the concept of intentional acts by attributing them to physical laws.
Step-by-step explanation:
The explanation of reductive materialism is not directly attributed to psychologist Boring; rather, it is a philosophical position within the materialist family of thought. This concept essentially refers to the notion that all mental states and properties will eventually be explained by scientific accounts of physiological processes and states. According to materialism, only material substances exist, and all phenomena, including mental phenomena like consciousness, are the result of material interactions. Reflecting on ideas from philosophers like Charles Hartshorne, materialism tends to deny that nature's most pervasive processes involve psychical functions such as sensing, desiring, or thinking, rather asserting that physical laws are sufficient to explain all phenomena.
There are also perspectives such as eliminative materialism which argue that common-sense understandings of psychological concepts (like beliefs and desires) may one day be superseded by neuroscientific explanations. In the context of neuroscience and advances in cognitive science, the trend is towards a physicalist view that equates mind with brain processes, dismissing the existence of non-physical entities. The challenge for materialism also includes explaining intentionality and purpose in actions, which may appear to suggest an intelligent design but are explained by materialists as outcomes of physical laws and processes.
Ultimately, the materialist view of the mind as put forward by thinkers from the pre-Socratic era to contemporary philosophers reaffirms that the mental is but a manifestation of the physical, denying the existence of non-physical substances such as spirit or soul.