big fundamentals game Flashcards
why does multiple realizability fit with functionalism
Multiple realizability implies that you can no longer say “mental state X is physical state A” (1 point).
You can say “mental state X is OR physical state A OR physical state B OR physical state C etc” but that is not helpful because the set of physical states cannot be defined from the lower level (the physical level); it is the mental state that defines this set. (1 point)
If there is multiple realizability it is thus not helpful to define mental states according to the matter in which they are realized. (1 point)
This problem is circumvented when instead of defining mental states according to the physical state
they are realized in, we define mental states according to their role in the system. (1 point)
That is exactly what functionalism does: In functionalism, mental states are defined by their role in the system (by their function). (1 point)
Despite methodological shortcomings, the Hawthorne studies are often cited in psychological
literature. Brysbaert and Rastle (the authors of the book used in this course) give a number of
reasons for this.
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason?
A. The conclusions benefit psychologists.
B. The underlying message of the study is true.
C. Hawthorne was long accepted as an authority in this field.
C
Leonardo and Nouria are talking about different positions in the mind-body problem and how these
positions deal with subjective experiences. Nouria says “Well, suppose that you know all the physical
knowledge about the smell of roses, but you grew up high in the mountains where no roses grow,
and so you have never actually experienced the smell of roses. Would you then learn something new
the first time you smell a rose?” Identify which thought experiment is reflected in Nouria’s
description, and which philosopher proposed this thought experiment. (1 point) Explain the original
thought experiment you identified and explain why this is considered an argument against
materialism/physicalism
The though experiment reflected in Nouria’s words is “Mary the color scientist” put forward by Frank
Jackson. (1 point)
In this experiment Mary grows up in a black-and-white room and has never seen color. However, she
is a color scientist who knows everything there is to know physically about color perception. One day
she is allowed to step outside and sees the blue sky for the first time (sees color for the first time). (1
point)
The intuition is that at this point when she steps outside and sees color, that she learns something
new. (1 point)
That means that “physical knowledge” is not “all knowledge”; Mary’s subjective experience of color
was not part of the knowledge she had as a color scientist. (or: physical knowledge is not the same as
knowledge about subjective experiences) (1 point)
Physicalism/materialism (or: a physical description of the world) thus seems to miss out on subjective
experiences, which is an argument against physicalism/materialism (1 point)
Open question 3
a) Describe what Kuhn means by a scientific revolution. In your answer, include the concepts of
‘normal science’, ‘paradigm’, and ‘anomaly’ (4 points).
b) Explain why Kuhn’s view on science does not go well with the idea of cumulative progress (1
point).
When scientists are in a period of normal science, scientists work on puzzles in the existing paradigm.
(1pt).
A paradigm is the overarching theory/framework/a set of common views that describes what a
discipline is about and what should be investigated. (1pt)
At one point, scientists encounter one or more anomalies: scientific findings that are not compatible
within the existing paradigm, which leads to a crisis. (1pt)
A scientific revolution takes place when one existing paradigm makes place for an alternative
paradigm. (1pt)
Because of these revolutions, science does not progress steadily (in a revolution progress goes very
fast, during normal science this progress is much slower).
OR
Paradigms are not necessarily replaced by a better paradigm, which means that scientific knowledge
is relative/time-dependent.
(1pt)
Open question 4
Professor Scrooge does not share his data with other researchers. He believes that the data belong to
him, because he collected the data. When his students confront him with the fact that this behaviour
is not consistent with the TOP guidelines that their university endorses, Scrooge tells them to stop complaining, because he is the research professor and therefore he knows how these processes
work.
Identify the four scientific norms that Robert Merton identified. (1 point)
Explain which of these norms are violated by professor Scrooge. (4 points)
The four norms of Merton are communalism, universalism, disinterestedness, and organized
skepticism. (1pt)
The value of communalism means that scientific products do not belong to anyone. (1pt)
Scrooge’s argument against data sharing violates this norm, because it suggests that the data are his
property. (1pt)
The value of universalism means that, for the evaluation of a claim, it does not matter who makes
the claim. (1pt)
The value of universalism means that, for the evaluation of a claim, it does not matter who makes
the claim. (1pt)
