Epiphenomenalism

Epiphenomenalism is a position in the philosophy of mind on the mind–body problem. It holds that subjective mental events are completely dependent for their existence on corresponding physical and biochemical events within the human body, but do not themselves influence physical events. According to epiphenomenalism, the appearance that subjective mental states (such as intentions) influence physical events is an illusion, with consciousness being a by-product of physical states of the world. For instance, fear seems to make the heart beat faster, but according to epiphenomenalism the biochemical secretions of the brain and nervous system (such as adrenaline)—not the experience of fear—is what raises the heartbeat. Because mental events are a kind of overflow that cannot cause anything physical, yet have non-physical properties, epiphenomenalism is viewed as a form of property dualism.

wikipedia/en/Epiphenomenalism

Epiphenomenalism is a philosophical viewpoint within the Philosophy of mind that argues mental states are caused by physical events in the brain but do not, in turn, cause any physical events. In essence, it suggests that the mind is a byproduct of Brain processes and doesn’t have any causal influence on the physical world. 

• **A Type of Dualism: Epiphenomenalism is a form of Dualism, which generally posits a distinction between the mind and the physical world. 
• Non-Causal Mental States: Epiphenomenalists believe that mental events, like thoughts or feelings, are caused by the physical processes in the brain, but these mental states themselves do not contribute to or influence those physical processes. 
• **Example: A common analogy is the [steam whistle] of a locomotive engine. The whistle is caused by the engine’s operation, but the whistle itself doesn’t affect the engine’s functioning. 
• **Implications: This view raises questions about how we can explain our knowledge of other minds, as epiphenomenalism implies that we cannot infer mental states from behavior if mental states don’t cause behavior. 
• Contrast with Other Views: It differs from physicalism, which sees mental phenomena as simply physical phenomena, and from dualist interactionism, which suggests that Mind and body can influence each other.