Phil of Mind - Short Answer Flashcards
Briefly present and explain the mind-body problem
how is it that mental states, events and processes - such as thoughts and beliefs - correspond to physical states and events given that the body is a physical thing and the mind is non-physical.
Briefly present the zombie argument against Functionalism.
Imagine a zombie that fulfills the functionalist definition of a mental state but doesn’t experience the particular feeling of the functional state, such as the redness of red or the hurt of pain. Such a zombie wouldn’t be fulfilling the mental state without the subjective feeling of the functional experience. Therefore functionalism is false.
Imagine functional definition of pain being fulfilled without the experience of pain.
Briefly present the Knowledge Argument.
If (A) you know all the physical facts about the world but (B) you learn something new about the world that is not part of the physical facts about the world -> (C)There is at least one thing in the world that is non-physical information
C -> (D) Materialism (Physicalism) is false
Briefly present Locke’s objections to Cartesian Identity, repeated here:
Cartesian Identity Person A existing at time t1 is the same person as person B existing at time t2 iff A and B have the same Cartesian soul.
Be sure to offer one objection against the sufficiency of the criterion and one against its necessity.
Given that Descartes’ thinks of the bucket as (1) it being the site of thought and intellect (2) it is different from its contents, which do change
• If buckets are switched around but the mental contents remain the same, the necessity of the sameness of bucket for sameness of identity is questioned because it seems as if the same person persisted through the mental content changes
• Given that a soul can persist beyond bodily death, If George Washington and I have the same soul, that is sufficient to make us the same person, but it is questionable to say that we are the same person
Briefly present and explain the problem that Fission cases pose for the psychological continuity theory of personal identity.
Psychological Continuity Person A at time t1 is the same person as person B at time t2 if and only if A and B are connected via the memory criterion and other, forward-looking relations.
Memory Identity Person A existing at time t1 is the same person as person B ex- isting at time t2 iff there is some chain of persons A1, A2, . . . such that B can remember what A1 did, A1 can remember what A2 did, etc., leading from B to A in an uninterrupted chain.
There is a split from one person, whose mental content is put into two bodies. These two bodies are psychologically continuous with this person;
• Where has the person gone if you believe in the psychological continuity theory
Briefly present and explain the problem that turns on the distinction between genuine and delusional memories for the view that according to the psychological continuity theory, it’s possible to survive the death of one’s body.
Psychological Continuity Person A at time t1 is the same person as person B at time t2 if and only if A and B are connected via the memory criterion and other, forward-looking relations.
Memory Identity Person A existing at time t1 is the same person as person B ex- isting at time t2 iff there is some chain of persons A1, A2, . . . such that B can remember what A1 did, A1 can remember what A2 did, etc., leading from B to A in an uninterrupted chain.
Imagine a denizen of heaven who remembers all your earthly exploits, what makes it true that this heavenly you has genuine and not delusional memories? Genuine memories are caused by the proper relations to the actual environment. Genuine memories are caused by actions on the agent’s behalf.
