Test 2 Flashcards
Descartes: What does he think he is before doing philosophy (his ordinary self-conception)?
1) I am a man, a human, a “rational animal.”
2) I have a soul.
3) I have a body.
Descartes: What does he think he is after philosophy (purified Self-conception)?
A Thing that doubts, understands, affirms or denies, is willing or unwilling, but also that imagines and has sensory perceptions.
What does Descartes think are the Innate ideas (ideas that are built into every single mind)?
The idea of physical objects, the Idea of the mind itself, the Idea of God
What does Descartes think is essential to the mind?
The Intellect and the Will
Descartes: RES COGITANS
“To think.” Meaning to affirm or deny.
Descartes: RES EXTENSA
“Extended stuff.” It means to take up space, to be material.
Descartes: what is substance dualism?
The mind and body are two seperate things.
Ryle: what is his official doctrine that is hailed chiefly from Descartes?
EVERYONE has a mind and a body, and after the body dies the mind can continue to exist and function.
what is the ghost in the machine theory and what does Ryle say about it?
The ghost is the mind and the body is the machine. Ryle believes this is false and calls it a category mistake.
What is materialism?
The belief that the mind and the brain are the same.
Churchland: what are his four arguments against dualism?
Religious considerations (just because you believe something, doesn't mean it's true) Introspection (Just because you are aware of something that you're thinking about, doesn't mean its true.) Irreducibility (as neuroscience research increases, more mental functions can be explained in terms of brain activity) Paranormal perspective (BS)
What is phenomenology?
A description of experience. For instance, we can describe how we experience the world.
What is Nagel’s argument against materialism concerning bats?
1) Bats have subjective consciousness.
2) there are phenomenological facts about bats.
3) these phenomenological facts are not known to us.
4) Even if we know everything about bat physiology, we cannot know the phenomenological experience of bats because there is a logical distinction between physiology/phenomenological facts.
What is the Chinese Room Argument?
1) Programs are syntactical (they follow rules).
2) Minds understand semantics (meanings.)
3) Semantics are not the same as syntax.
4) A program can’t be a mind.
What does Descartes say concerning his Quest for Certainty?
“I think therefore I am (or exist).”
