Philosophy of Mind

Question 1

What is metaphysics?

Answer 1

• Hard to define; the subject-matter of metaphysics has transformed over the course of history.
• The name of a collection of 14 of books written by Aristotle.
• Assuming metaphysics is the subject-matter of Aristotle’s Metaphysics we are committed to the subject matter of metaphysics being: (1) “being as such” (2) first causes of things (3) that which does not change.

Question 2

Describe the etymology of metaphysics.

Answer 2

• derived from the Greek words μετά (metá,”after”) and φυσικά (physiká, “physics”)

Question 3

What are the central questions of metaphysics?

Answer 3

• What is the nature of being? (ontology) • What is personal identity? • What is the nature of space and time? • What is the nature of causality? • What is necessity and possibility?

Question 4

Describe biological naturalism.

Answer 4

• A metaphysical position on the mind-body problem
• Proposed by John Searle in 1980
• Two major claims: 1) all mental phenomena are caused by lower-level neuro-biological processes in the brain; and 2) mental phenomena are higher-level features of the brain.

Question 5

What is the mind-body problem?

Answer 5

• Concerns the explanation of the relationship that exists between minds, or mental processes, and bodily states or processes • The solution to this problem has significant metaphysical consequences.

Question 6

Describe the classical computational theory of mind.

Answer 6

• Claims that the mind is a computational similar in important respects to a Turing machine. • Contemporary formulations are more precise and broad; it describes a family of views. • Holds that it is like a computational systems. • Holds that a suitable abstract computational model offers a literally true description of core mental processes.