Dualism

Question 1

What are the main metaphysical issues in Philosophy of Mind? (2)

Answer 1

1) What is the nature of the mind (mental state & ontologically distinct)
2) The relationship between the mental and the physical (What is the relation between them & causation - how can one influence the other?)

Question 2

What is a mental state?

Answer 2

Emotions, feeling pain, happiness, anger etc. as well as cognitive belief like your belief that it’s raining etc

Question 3

If I say that the mind is ‘ontologically distinct’ from the body, what do I mean?

Answer 3

It might not be physical in nature, which means we can’t do experiments on it etc, problem for science

Question 4

What are the 3 main theories for the nature of the mind? + Explain

Answer 4

• Dualism: mind is ontologically distinct from physical body/brain
• Materialism: mind is physical entity
• Idealism: physical world is derivative of mental states (Physical world is product of mind)

Question 5

Descartes’ book + ain

Answer 5

BOOK: Meditations on First Philosophy

AIM: Establish what we can know with absolute certainty

Question 6

Summarise Descartes meditations (3)

Answer 6

1) There are 2 fundamentally distinct kinds of substances in the world: mental and physical (+ God)
2) Essence of mental substances is “thinking”
3) Essence of physical substances is spatial extension

Question 7

What is the latin for thinking?

Answer 7

res cogitas

Question 8

What is the latin for spatial extension

Answer 8

res extensa

Question 9

Quote for Descartes on Systematic doubt

Answer 9

“While I was trying to thus think everything false, it was necessary that I, who was thinking this, was something.”

Question 10

Where is the systematic doubt quote found?

Answer 10

Discourse on Method Part 4

Question 11

Summary of Descartes systematic doubt

Answer 11

Cogito, ergo sum

I think therefore I am

Question 12

What 2 inferences does Descartes make from systematic doubt

Answer 12

1) The mind is distinct from the body -> I can imagine myself existing without a body, therefore they must be distinct
2) The soul is easier to know than the body -> I have direct epistemic access to my mental states, but not to external objects. (e.g. If I stub my toe I have knowledge of the mental pain, but not of the actual physicality of the situation)

Question 13

Explain direct vs indirect knowledge (Descartes)

Answer 13

I have direct awareness of the contents of my mind, but I can only indirectly infer the existence of the physical world around me

Question 14

Use exam example of indirect vs direct knowledge

Answer 14

I do not directly perceive the exam paper in front of me, I simply perceive my conscious experience of the exam paper

That’s why I can be certain that I have a mind, but can never truly be certain that I have a body

Question 15

Descartes Properties of mind vs properties of body

Answer 15

MIND: known directly, free, indestructible

BODY: known indirectly, determined by laws of physics, destructible

Question 16

Define privileged epistemic access

Answer 16

Direct, immediate, certain access to mind

Question 17

What does Descartes compare the human body to

Answer 17

A hydraulic machine, with the mind being used to power it

Question 18

What did Descartes infer from the hydraulic machine example and why was this important?

Answer 18

Our bodies are not sacred only the mind is - the body is a question of physics and nothing else

At the time theology was very prominent and bodies were sacred -> not allowed to be used for dissection etc

Question 19

What is the pineal gland? (3)

Answer 19

• Descartes said it’s the only place where mind and body interact
• Bc it’s a gland that’s in direct contact with the brain ventricles
• He got this bc when dissecting the brain, all is symmetrical apart from this

Question 20

What is the conceivability argument

Answer 20

A priory argument, explaining that:

• Something that is conceivable is logically possible, and something that is inconceivable is logically impossible
• It is conceivable that someone could exist without a body, therefore this is a logical possibility and the body is not essential to a person.

It is inconceivable that someone could exist without a mind (cogito ergo sum), therefore this is a logical impossibility and the mind is essential to a person

Question 21

Explain the mind body problem

Answer 21

It is clear that the mind and body interact
e.g. if you step on my toe (a physical act) I will feel pain (a mental act)
But how can something immaterial interact with something material?

Question 22

Why is the mind-body problem particularly problematic for Descartes?

Answer 22

He adopts a transference account of causation

Question 23

What are the two responses to the mind-body problem? (and what’s the problem with the responses)

Answer 23

We must either:

1) Accept the notion that there is such a thing as psychic energy (which has never been proven to exist)
2) Deny conservation principles in physics (Which enjoy plenty of empirical support)

BOTH OPTIONS ARE UNAPPEALING TO MODERN SCIENCE

Question 24

What would be an alternative defence of the mind-body problem?

Answer 24

Take Hume’s regularity account of causation, where one accepts correlations as a basic feature of reality needing no further explanation

Question 25

What have other philosophers responded to the mind-body problem? (2)

Answer 25

MALEBRANCHE: There is no mind-body interaction, instead both are commonly caused by God. For example, God wishes that I step on a pin and at the same time wishes that I feel pain

LEIBNIZ: The mind and body seem to interact bc God has predetermined our whole life

Question 26

Descartes’ variety of duality is referred to as interactionism. What does this mean?

Answer 26

Mental and physical states are fundamentally distinct but interact in both directions

Question 27

Huxton’s variety of duality is referred to as what?

Answer 27

Epiphenomenalism

Question 28

What does Epiphenomenalism say? (3)

Answer 28

• Mental and physical states are fundamentally distinct
• Physical states affect mental states
• But mental states don’t affect physical states

Question 29

What is Gilbert Rile’s objection to Descartes?

Answer 29

Descartes makes a category mistake/error in his argument for dualism

Question 30

Expand on the category mistake argument with example

Answer 30

Rile uses example of someone having a tour of the Oxford uni campus, and at the end they ask “Okay but which one’s the university?” assuming that it is one building

Descartes makes a category mistake by assuming that mind and body are of the same type (existence and laws of state) when really the mind isn’t of the same type.