Week 1: Why have brains at all? Philosophy of mind, Brain and the Environment = CHECKED

Question 1

What did David Wolpert argue what the sole purpose of the brain was?

Answer 1

To plan, organise and execute movements

Question 2

What did Daniel Wolpert base his argument on why have brains at all?

Answer 2

Plants do not have brains and they can not move

Question 3

Example Daniel Wolpert gives with purpose of brain is to organise, plan and execute movement (3))

Answer 3

A sea squirt is an aquatic animal that moves in the ocean (has a brain) until they find a rock they can attach themselves onto.

Once that happens, the animal will digest its own brain.

Conclusion: a brain is not necessary if you don’t need to move

Question 4

Daniel Wolpert’s argument of the purpose of the brain is similar to the argument made by

Answer 4

Carl Sagan

Question 5

Daniel Wolpert’s argument predates (exists earlier) than ______ arguement

Answer 5

Carl Sagan’s

Question 6

Carl Sagan argument for purpose of the brain

Answer 6

The brain stores information to generate adaptive and complex behaviour behavior beyond what can be encoded in genes

Question 7

The overarching question in philosophy of mind

Answer 7

is what is the mind?

Question 8

Two strands of answering the overarching question of philosophy of mind is

Answer 8

dualism and materialism

Question 9

Diagram of philosophy of mind with dualism and materialism

Answer 9

Question 10

What is dualism?

Answer 10

It is the idea that both the mind and body are separate, and that the mental is distinct from the physical

Question 11

What is materialism?

Answer 11

The mind is a physical object and mental states are derived from physical states

Question 12

In other words, dualism proposes that

Answer 12

The mind is not the brain

Question 13

The view of dualism is mainly attributed to philosoper called

Answer 13

Descartes

Question 14

In Descartes’s Meditations on First Philosophy, he proposes a version called ____ or ______

Answer 14

dualism called substance dualism also known as interactionism

Question 15

According to Descartes, substance dualism takes on the view that:

Answer 15

Both the mind and body are essentially dissimilar from each other and are made up of two different substances

Question 16

Substance Dualism that mind and body are made up of two different substances which are: (2)

Answer 16

the body is made up of res extensa (corporeal [i.e., physical ]substance)

The mind is made up of res cogitans (thinking [i.e., non-physical] substance)

Question 17

In Descartes’s substance dualism the mind and body are both separate from each other and made up of two substances, but they

Answer 17

influence each other causally (interacting)

Question 18

Example: Imagine that while scuba diving in New Zealand bay, Mary sees a shark in the water and quickly swims back to the boat and gets safe on it:

Explanation due to substance/interactionist dualism (6)

Answer 18

1.Light waves from the shark hit Mary’s retina.

2.Mary’s brain extracts sensory information from the activation pattern of her retina and

3.It passes the information on to her nonphysical mind.

4.Her mind interprets the sensory information it has received from the brain and recognizes that there is a shark.

5.It then decides that the best thing to do is to swim back to the boat and get on it. A message (SWIM TO THE BOAT) is sent from Mary’s mind back to her brain.

6.Her brain sends the signals to her muscles and she swims quickly back to the boat.

Question 19

In substance dualism, the body is a physical substance that is located ___ and can be experienced through ___

Answer 19

in space

ordinary perception

Question 20

In substance dualism, the mind is a non-physical substance (a mental thing) which is not located in ___ and cannot be experienced through ___

Answer 20

space

ordinary perception

Question 21

What is the mind stuff in dualism?

Answer 21

There is no scientific explanation of what it could be

Question 22

In this module, phenomenology is defined as:

Answer 22

The things about the conscious experience and mind that need to be explained

Question 23

Dualism is giving up as there is no

Answer 23

good scientific explanation for the mind stuff, but we need strong arguements

Question 24

What are the 3 objections to dualism?

Answer 24

Objection 1: Causality and Conservation of Energy

Objection 2: The argument from evolution and microphysics

Objection 3: Physical brain damage and psycho-active substances change mind states

Question 25

Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:

Descarates considered that both mind and body are different subtances - one is a physical and one mental substance that

Answer 25

affect each other causally (interacting with each other)

Question 26

Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:

Descarates mind and body interact with each other in a way that:

Answer 26

sense organs must inform the mind and the mind must inform the brain to perform an action

Question 27

**Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:
**
Descarates said that mind and body interact via the _____ ( ____ )

Answer 27

pineal gland (PG)

Question 28

Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:

How does the PG transmit information to the mind and back?

Answer 28

In roughly 400 years, no one was able to propose a theory for this

Question 29

**Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:
**
“Informing the brain” involves

Answer 29

applying force onto ions (i.e., electronically charged particles) which makes neurons fire action potentials

Question 30

**Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:
**
“Informing the brain” involves applying force onto ions which makes neurons fire however

Answer 30

where does the energy come from to make those charged particles move?

Question 31

Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:

Generally, nature and the universe follow this law of conversation energy principle which states that (2)

Answer 31

In closed systems, Energy is neither produced or removed but can change its form from one energy to another (e.g., kinetic energy to heat)

Question 32

Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:

Every modern technology relies on the

Answer 32

conversation of energy principle

Question 33

Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:

If substance dualism is true… (3)

Answer 33

it would mean energy is constantly being added into the closed system of our universe every time the mental (Res cogitans) interacts with the physical (res extensa)

Then this means conversation of energy is false and contradicts fundamental laws of physics

But there is a lot of scientific evidence to suggest conversation of energy is true

Question 34

Objection 1: Causality and Conversation of Energy:

Since substance dualism contradicts basic fundamentals of physics, according to Daniel Dennett this is the

Answer 34

this is a fatal flaw in dualism that is inescapable and unavoidable

Question 35

Objection 2: The argument from biological continuity (evolution) and microphysics

Very few from the evolution of humans would accredit mind stuff to a single cell. where and when

Answer 35

does res-cogitans appear in the chain of evolution

Question 36

Objection 3: Physical brain damage and psycho-active substances change the states of the mind

Mental states are affected by

Answer 36

physical substances

Question 37

Objection 3: Physical brain damage and psycho-active substances change the states of the mind

Psycho-active substances changes a

Answer 37

person’s mental state

Question 38

Objection 3: Physical brain damage and psycho-active substances change the states of the mind

A person’s mental state is affected by physical

Answer 38

damage to the brain

Question 39

Objection 3: Physical brain damage and psycho-active substances change the states of the mind

A person’s mental state is affected by physical damage to brain

For example,

Answer 39

Amnesia caused by damage to the hippocampus

Question 40

Objection 3: Physical brain damage and psycho-active substances change the states of the mind

• How does Psycho-active substances affect res cognitans, how does physical damage to the brain affects mental states and how does the damage to brain prevent realisation of mental state to res cogitans has not been

Answer 40

replied satisfactorily

Question 41

Imagine that, while scuba diving in a New Zealand bay, Mary sees a shark in the water. She quickly swims back to the boat and gets safe on it (3) - MATERIALISM

Answer 41

1.Light waves from the shark hit Mary’s retina.

2.Mary’s brain extracts sensory information from the activation pattern of her retina and processes them

3.Her brain sends the signals to her muscles and she swims quickly back to the boat.

Question 42

What is identity theory (proposed by materalists)?

Answer 42

The mind is the brain, and mental states such as beliefs, desires, emotions etc. really are physical states of the brain

Question 43

According to the identity theory , for each mental state there is a unique physical configuration of the brain (i.e., distribution of activity in brain cells), such that a

Answer 43

life form can be in that mental state only if it is in that brain state

Question 44

Why would we prefer materialism for this module? (4)

Answer 44

It goes not go against basic physics and human evolution

It is congruent with the effect of brain lesions and psycho-active substances on the mind as changed states of mind map onto altered brain states

Provides a base for the study of brain to explain behaviour

We can build models of casual mechanisms in brain as an explanatory tool for mind states

Question 45

Is materialism the same as behaviourism? (2)

Answer 45

Behaviourists are materialists; they postulate that there is no mental substance, who interact with the physical world

Not all materialist (identity) theories are compatible with behaviourism

Question 46

The brain acts as a mediator between the body’s actions and environment in a constant feedback look (brain-environment loop)

Answer 46

to produce adaptive behaviour

Question 47

Brain-enviroment feedback look description (4)

Answer 47

Brain selects an action

Leads to change in state of environment/point of view has changed

Changed sensory inputs that go into the brain

Loops

Question 48

Brain-environment feedback loop
The brain selects actions according to the criteria of

Answer 48

keeping the organism alive (along with homestasis) and thrive

Question 49

The goal of adaptive behaviour is

Answer 49

maintain homeostasis (i.e., survive)

Question 50

For an animal to be alive, it must maintain homeostasis (i.e.,

Answer 50

For an animal to be alive, it must maintain homeostasis (i.e.,…

That particular variables (i.e., body temperature) must be kept within certain ‘physiological’ limits/parameters

Question 51

In homeostasis, what the variables are and their limits is what constitute

Answer 51

the make up of the species (i.e., not the same for every animal)

Question 52

From history of the brian we encountered a common theme that (tech)

Answer 52

brain, poorly understood, is likened to the most innovative and strange technology available at the time.

Question 53

phenomenology in simple terms is a pre-theoretical description that summarizes observations.

In other words, phenomenology is a general term for

Answer 53

inhabitants of our conscious experience (e.g., thoughts/pain)

Question 54

Brain-enviroment loop definition

Answer 54

To produce adaptive behaviour the brain must take in sensory information, process it, and generate an appropriate action.