Metaphysics Flashcards
What is Metaphysics?
It is a study of general attributes of being.
Which problems does Metaphysics cover?
1) Composition
- What is an object? A obj. + B obj. = C new obj.
2) Modality
- What is possible? Can I become a pig?
3) Vagueness
- What is vague? Is vagueness a feature of reality?
4) Free Will (deterministic universe)
- Is Free Will possible? How can you be free if everything is determined? Is Free Will an illusion?
5) Time
- What is the nature of time? Is there time? Why past will never come back?
6) Persistence of identity (over time)
- When and on what condition does an object change?
What is one of the famous Thought Experiments in Metaphysics?
Ship of Theseus: It raises a question of individuation (identity at a time) and persistence (identity over time)
“Is an object with fully replaced components the same object?”
Its paradox is in the definition of the same.
What is the paradox of Ship of Theseus?
The definition of “the same”.
1) Will it be the same ship if all the planks are replaced?
If yes, then A=A (original ship)
In that case, it would not exist for 1000 years.
If no, then A and B
Which ship is the original one?
Over time (persistence), the ship has different states. A (continuity criteria) cannot be identical to B (composition criteria) in different timelines.
What is Aristotle’s reasoning for this matter? (Ship of Theseus)
Every object has several qualities that can be evaluated to claim that one object is similar to another:
1) form
2) material
3) essence
If the essence hasn’t changed, the Ship of Theseus is the same.
What makes it true that a person at one time is the same thing as a person at another time?
Personal identity is:
1) Bodily substance (body)
2) Mental substance (soul/mind)
Motivations of Metaphysics are…
1) Practical
2) Metaphysical (Ship of Theseus)
Practical motivations touch upon…
1) The problem of abortion (the same organism/additional organism) + euthanasia (the same person?)
2) Cloning (Is a clone the same person as you?)
3) Anticipation of an afterlife (Will I survive my bodily death?)
4) Responsibility
What does Metaphysics suggest regarding death?
Four Theories:
1) Body Theory
2) Soul Theory
3) Memory Theory
4) Psychological Continuity Theory
Body Theory
“We’re organisms. It is within our nature to die” (Animalistic approach)
Therefore, there is no way to survive death (bodily or mentally)
Soul Theory
The oldest theory.
1) Based on Christianity + Cartesian dualism
The soul is 1) immaterial; 2) indestructible; 3) independent of the body. Therefore, the SOUL can be EXTENDED in space (the body can’t)
As a result: I can survive my death if my soul continues to exist (P1=P2)
- Neither body nor mind properties affect immortality, you’ll get a new body and new thoughts later
Problems of the Soul Theory:
1) No verification of my identity via bodily/mental features
2) Survival is uninteresting (it doesn’t give me what I want)
Body and Immortality
P1=P2 if they have the same body
The sameness of the body is: 1) atoms; 2) tissues; 3) continuity of matter
Memory Theory
John Locke: We are sure about our persistence. How? We remember it.
P1=P2 if P2 can remember P1’s experiences.
What does Memory Theory explain?
1) Explains the afterlife
2) Survival looks interesting
3) Explanation of Responsibility (Mind Swap)
Prince and Cobbler experiment (Mind Swap)
P1 is guilty. P1 and P2 swap their mind. Who is guilty?
- Intuition tells us that P1 is guilty (body doesn’t matter)
Problems:
1)Memory can’t be reliable (I went to the store yesterday and don’t remember it. It doesn’t mean I didn’t go to the store)
2) Transitivity (A=B, B=C, A=C)
Boy-officer-general case:
The officer remembers a boy
The general remembers the officer
The general doesn’t remember a boy
IDENTITY IS TRANSITIVE
What does Robocop’s case show?
That existence can be uninteresting.
“It’s still you, your body is gone, but you’re in control”
In that case, survival without a body is problematic.
Mad Surgeon example:
Gradual replacement of your mental and bodily states to become Trump.
Psychological Theory
P1=P2 if P1 is psychologically continuous with P2
Continuity - a chain of direct psychological connections, which are:
1) habits; 2) memories; 3) traits; 4) intentions; 5) beliefs
In that case, remembering is NOT NECESSARY (Boy-General-Officer Case)
What are the advantages of the Psychological Theory?
1) Can explain the afterlife
2) Afterlife is also interesting!
3) Can account for responsibility
4) You can be sure you persist in time
5) Implications for abortion + euthanasia (since these two don’t posses psychological continuity)
Problems of Psychological Theory?
So, let’s take teleportation (travel or death?)
The machine doesn’t destroy your original copy, so you have countless replicas - which one is your true self?
If a malfunction appears, P1 doesn’t survive, and all the replicas happen to be authentic.
1) HOWEVER, P1 cannot branch (no branching condition), so psychological continuity between countless replicas makes the original cease to exist.
2) Split brain operation + double hemisphere transplant. The outcome of that is you don’t survive.
Animalism
Identity doesn’t matter for survival.
In John R. Searle’s “Minds, Brains, and Programs”, what is the author’s main idea? What is he trying to convey?
Searle shares his perception of the phenomena of AI. He separates it into two big categories:
1) “Strong” AI; 2) “Weak, cautious” AI
“Weak” AI is a powerful tool to test hypotheses since it requires just a mechanical aspect of programs.
“Strong” AI, on the contrary, is an appropriately programmed computer which resembles a human mind (and this point the author tries to refute). It seems to be that a computer can have COGNITIVE STATES.
To provide some information on the topic, John R. Searle describes The Hamburger Case (computers could perform similar answers to those of humankind) and provides an example of Schrank’s machine.
Schrank’s machine:
1) Can understand the story and provide the answers.
2) Can explain the human ability to understand and answer.
However, the author argues that it is not a sensational event, because the computer follows the guidelines and its program. (Searle says he could do the same with Chinese translation).
Moreover, he emphasizes the state of knowledge and the overall ephemerality of understanding (meaning that Searle can say he knows something whereas a computer cannot). And mentions that it involves a thought process.
!!! There are no conditions to suppose that the computer can understand how people think.
