Week 2 Flashcards
Define: philosophy
the study of theories of a particular branch of knowledge; search for knowledge; identify and define problems and propose solutions
Define: problem
a difficult situation that needs to be addressed
- Defining concepts/ phenomenon (Example: what is the mind)
- Explaining why something occurs (Example: why do we experience joy the way we do?)
Define: solution
the means of solving a problem and the action of solving a problem
- In mathematics: apply well defined formulas to obtain an answer
- In comp-sci: process of writing a program to perform a task
- In philosophy: solve problems using reasoning
Define: mind body problem
- is the mind the same thing as the body
- is the mind physical? Is physical world = mental world?
- addresses how psychological or mental properties are related tophysical properties
Define: nature of consciousness
How and why does a mind experience sensations and emotions the way it does
Define: knowledge acquisition problem
Are people predisposed to acquire knowledge or is all knowledge learned?
Define: monism
- solution to the mind body problem
- the view that there is one kind of substance in the universe
- 1 world (mind = body)
Define: idealism
view that everything in the universe is nonphysical (ether? Ideas? thoughts?)
Define: physicalism
belief that everything in the universe is made up of neurons, molecules, or ions
Define: dualism
- solution to the mind body problem
- 2 worlds (mind =/ body)
Define: classical dualism/ substance dualism
- belief that the mind and body are composed of different substances
- Physical and non-physical
Define: property dualism
- Mind and body have different characteristics:
- Body is tangible
- Ideas are not tangible
- Mind and body may or not be made up of the same substance
Define: philosophical functionalism
- One way of getting around the mind-body problem to study the mind
- The view that mental states are defined in terms
of the operation or processes of physical states
Define: physical kinds
things having the same physical composition
- 2 computer chips made of silicon are made of the same physical kinds
Define: functional kinds
2 kinds of things perform exactly the same functions (example: human brain vs brain made by tech) - retrieve, represent information, organize information, etc
Define: physical state
The condition of the components of a physical body at a specific time
Define: mental state
The representations in the mind at a specific time
Define: quale/qualia
unit of consciousness; quality or property as perceived or experienced by a person
- qualia (plural)
- What is it like to experience something (eat an apple, watch the sunset, fall in love)
Define: phenomenal concept of mind
- perceptible through the senses of immediate experiences
- How the mind experiences the senses (heat, cold, red, soft touch, etc)
Define: psychological concept of mind
The study of the mind and how it might cause
behavior
Explain how mental states arise
Why do you see red?
-light of a certain frequency stimulates red-green
optic cells in the retina
Define: easy problem of consciousness
- are those that can be solved by cognitive science and explained in terms of computational or neural mechanisms.”
- An objective explanation
- Can be explained in terms of activities of physical objects (nerve cells)
Define: hard problem of consciousness
- are those that explain subjective experience.
- John experiences a sunset on a beach. Why does John experience it this way? What if ewoks experience this scene differently? How do you explain an ewoks’ subjective experience?
Define: explanatory gap
- implication of having 2 problems that require explanations using different terminologies
- “subjective human experience may not be fully explained by an objective account using physical and mechanical processes…”
Define: emergence/emergent properties
- An experience, mental representation or process
originally does not exist until the physical state of
the body acts in a certain way
Define: reduction
Explain something in terms of its more basic parts
- An example of reduction:
- Consider an action:
Explained in terms of a group of motor neurons controlled by the neurons in the brain.
Neurons made up of chemicals, actions can be explained in terms of chemicals
Define: consciousness
the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings.
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