Philosophy of Mind Flashcards
What is the only verifiable data point about conscious minds?
One’s own first-person experience of consciousness
What idea involves believing you are the only existing mind?
Solipsism
What types of biological beings close to humans do most believe have minds?
Great apes and pets
How are insects often viewed in terms of having subjective experience?
As biological robots lacking any subjective experience or “mind”
For more evolutionarily distant animals, what happens regarding beliefs about minds?
Beliefs tend to diverge more - some people attribute minds to birds and reptiles, while others think they lack subjective experience or mindedness.
What type of entity can be an exception in being perceived as having a mind?
Convincingly mind-like artificial intelligences
What view places qualities like color back into the external world?
Naive realism
Denies the starting picture…
Puts the “qualia” back into the world. The mind perceives qualities like colors, but those qualities aren’t mental.
What view denies an external physical world beyond the mind’s contents?
Idealism
Denies that there is a chasm between qualia and the physical by denying that there is more to the world than “qualia”.
What view denies the existence of qualities like redness, or poses that consciousness is an illusion
Illusionism
Accept that it seems like qualia exist… But argue that this is just an introspective
illusion; that there is actually no such thing.
What is the proposed name for the view that qualities arise from brain processes?
Qualitative physicalism
Accept that qualia exist…
But argue that they are ultimately physical; that they are produced by the operations of the brain.
What philosophical idea divides reality into the mind and physical world?
Dualism
Our world includes two fundamentally different types of “stuff”:
Both the physical stuff described by the sciences and “conscious” stuff—qualia.
What view holds that qualities/qualia can be physically explained by brain processes?
The materialist/physicalist theory of mind
What is the “hard problem” of consciousness?
How can subjective, first-person conscious experiences arise from objective physical brains?
What are qualia?
The ineffable subjective qualities of experiences, like the redness of red or the smell of coffee.
What question did philosopher Thomas Nagel use to explore the subjectivity of consciousness?
What is it like to be a bat?
What is the name for the idea that consciousness has no effect and is a useless by-product?
Epiphenomenalism
According to dualism, what are the two realms that exist?
The mental/mind realm and the physical/body realm.
What philosopher proposed the famous dualist theory of Cartesian dualism?
René Descartes
What did Descartes propose as the connection point between mind and body?
The pineal gland in the brain
What thought experiment considers the possibility of unconscious beings that are behaviorally identical to conscious ones?
The philosophical zombie thought experiment
What is the alternative to consciousness being an “added extra” to other mental functions?
That consciousness is intrinsic and inseparable from perception, thinking, feeling etc.
According to the “theatre of the mind” metaphor, what do we imagine consciousness to be like?
A private inner theatre where the conscious self perceives experiences
What philosopher argued against the “Cartesian theatre” model of a central point where consciousness happens?
Daniel Dennett
What view holds that matter is fundamental and must account for consciousness arising?
Materialism
What is the name for the opposite view to dualism - that only one fundamental reality exists?
Monism
What did William James call the flow of conscious experiences?
The “stream of consciousness”
What is the minimal Turing test (McCoy & Ullman, 2018)?
People tried to come up with a single word that would convince a judge that they are human (and not a robot)
Best word was ‘poop’
In Grey, Grey, & Wegner’s 2007 study, the results indicated that people’s perception of minds consists of independent contributions from two dimensions. The study’s authors named these dimensions:
Experience and Agency
In Grey, Grey, & Wegner’s 2007 study, which dimension included capacities like hunger, fear, pain, and consciousness?
The Experience dimension included capacities like hunger, fear, pain, pleasure, consciousness, etc.
In Grey, Grey, & Wegner’s 2007 study, which dimension included capacities like self-control, morality, and communication?
The Agency dimension included capacities like self-control, morality, memory, communication, and thought.
How did perceptions of agency relate to judgments of moral responsibility and punishment?
Agency correlated more strongly with judgments about deserving punishment for wrongdoing, suggesting a link between agency and moral responsibility.
How did perceptions of experience relate to judgments about rights, avoidance of harm, and having a soul?
Experience correlated more strongly with not wanting to harm something, as well as judgments about things having a soul, suggesting a link to moral patiency and rights.
What is the “problem of perceiving minds” in the context of AI?
It refers to the challenge of determining whether an AI system truly has a mind or mental states, or if it is just appearing to mimic intelligent behavior.
Why is the Turing Test an insufficient measure of machine intelligence?
The Turing Test only evaluates surface-level behavior and language ability, but does not actually assess whether the machine has genuine understanding or consciousness.
What thought experiment highlights the difficulty of perceiving minds in AI?
The Chinese Room thought experiment, which argues that a computer following rules cannot truly “understand” language and meaning. John Searle (1980)
What are some potential issues with anthropomorphizing AI systems?
Attributing human-like mental states to AI could lead to overconfidence in their abilities, or developing unwarranted emotional attachments.
What are the two fundamental dimensions underlying mind perception according to research?
Experience (capacity for sensation/feelings) and Agency (capacity for self-control/goal-driven behavior).
How do studies measure the perception of experience in intelligent systems?
By assessing attributions of emotions, feeling pain, personality traits related to experience
How do studies measure the perception of agency in intelligent systems?
By assessing attributions of intentional action, free will, goal-driven behavior, self-control.
What are some factors that increase attributions of experience to an entity?
Having a biological/animal-like nature, exhibiting emotional expressions, appearing conscious.
What are some factors that increase attributions of agency to an entity?
Exhibiting intentional, self-directed behavior, taking goal-directed actions, making choices.
How do adults and children differ in their mind perception abilities?
Children are more liberal in attributing experience but conservative in attributing agency compared to adults.
What consequences can result from over-attributing minds to non-mental entities?
It can promote ineffective coping, biases in moral reasoning, and inappropriate social behavior.
How do cultural differences influence mind perception tendencies?
Individualistic cultures are more liberal in attributing agency, while collectivist cultures focus more on experience.
What neural processes underlie the perception of experience versus agency?
Perceiving experience engages social-cognitive and empathy networks, while agency engages theory-of-mind regions.
Why is mind perception an important area of study?
Accurate mind perception allows cooperating with intelligent agents and avoiding dehumanization.
How can understanding mind perception dimensions improve AI design?
By aligning AI’s observable behavior appropriately with the intended perception of experience and/or agency.
What are some open questions about the scope and limits of mind perception?
Whether it applies to group minds, future AI superintelligences, or minds radically different from humans.
