Neuroethics debate Flashcards
Aristotle talked about three degrees of the soul: ____, ____, and ____
vegetative
sensitive
rational
What are the properties of the rational soul according to Aristotle?
thought and reflection
Who proposed the mind-body problem?
Descartes
Descartes argues that because we can conceive the idea of a supremely perfect being, the supremely perfect being must exist.
What type of a philosophical argument is this an example of?
Ontological argument
What is the main premise of eliminative materialism?
Common-sense (folk) understanding of the mind is flawed. Mental states that are taken for granted in common-sense do not exist in reality.
What is the main premise of reductionist materialism?
All processes can be explained by reducing them down to their most basic components (e.g., atoms)
Which school of thought proposes that consciousness is an emergent property (by-product) of physical processes in the body?
Epiphenomenalist
What did Libet demonstrate with his experiment?
The brain activity to initiate a response started much earlier before the individual reported willing something to happen.
What is the idea behind the notion of “free won’t” in Libet’s reasoning?
We might not have free will but there may be a “free won’t”, a conscious veto over the action initiated in the brain
What are some of the limitations of Libet’s research and conclusions?
(1) Difficulty in recording the exact time of subjective decision-making
(2) May not apply to complex decisions
The notion of multiple realizability is proposed to contend that a single mental state can be realized by physically distinct entities sharing no similarities on the physical level.
Which doctrine in the philosophy of mind encompasses this idea?
Functionalism
In what way is type physicalism incompatible with functionalism?
Type physicalism states that mental states (F) are tied to specific physical properties (G) such that F = G
The functionalist point of view holds that mental states are multiply realizable.
