Question 4

(v) Give a clear, accurate explanation of philosophical behaviorism.

1. the meaning of a sentence attributing mental states to an individual can be analyzed into a set of sentences about how the individual would behave under a variety of circumstances 2. mental states and processes are behavioral dispositions

(iii) Give a clear, accurate explanation of two arguments in favor of Cartesian Dualism discussed in Stich & Donaldson.

Conceivability Argument: P1- if I can conceive of myself without a body, then it is possible that I can exist without a body P2- If I can exist without a body, then I'm not identical to a body. P3- I can conceive of myself without a body C1- So, I'm not identical to a body P4- If I'm not identical to a body, then there are two kinds of substance C2: So, there are two kinds of substances Mental States and processes seem to have some extraordinary properties that nothing in the physical world possesses. The 3 phenomena: consciousness, intentionality, and rationality- seem to be unique to minds. Concluded that physical objects cant have consciousness or exhibit rationality, so there must be another fundamental different category of things in the universe- minds.

(vii) Give a clear, accurate explanation of the argument against philosophical behaviorism that purports to show that the meaning of mental state terms cannot be analyzed into a cluster of sentences about behavior and behavioral dispositions.

Ex. if Fred gets a painful kick, he may say "ouch" but he may not. Perhaps, he wants to conceal his pain; or perhaps he thinks if he says "ouch", the person will kill him. So it looks like we cant analyze a statement about Fred's pain into statements about Fred's behavior and his behavioral dispositions. The analysis also has to include statements about Fred's other mental states- what he wants, what he believes, and perhaps what others as well. When philosophers begin to take the behaviorists' claim about the meaning of mental state statements seriously, they find that it was almost always impossible to give a purely behavioral analysis. If the analysis of mental state statements will always include other mental state statements, then the semantic claim that is central to behaviorism is false.

(i) Give a clear, accurate explanation of the Problem of Other Minds and the Mind-Body Problem

Other Minds- do other people and things like robots or fish have mental states? Are their mental states similar to ours? How can we know? Mind-Body Problem- What is the relationship between minds if they exist and bodies is they exist? How do they casually interact? How do they pair up?

(iv) Give a clear, accurate explanation of two problems that confront Cartesian Dualism

Princess Elizabeth's Argument: P1: If something is a physical object, then it is essentially extended and non-thinking P2: if something is a mental substance, then it is essentially thinking and non-extended P3: If a physical event is caused, then something pushes some other thing P4: if something pushing some other thing, then it is in contact with the other thing P5: minds are mental substances C1: So, minds are not in contact with other things C2: So, minds cannot push other things C3: So, minds cannot cause physical events Problem of Other Minds: if minds are distinct from bodies, then it is unclear how you can know if other people (and things like robots or fish) have mental states or whether their mental states are similar to yours.

(vi) Give a clear, accurate explanation of Daniel Dennett's argument against philosophical behaviorism.

if behaviorism is correct, then you should be completely indifferent to both surgical options: 1. coma like state & no pain 2. coma like state & will forget pain We would intuitively pick the one with no pain, but a behaviorist would say each option is the same because the end results are the same despite you going through 2 hours of pain.

(ii) Give a clear, accurate explanation of Cartesian Dualism.

there are two distinct types of substances, each person is a mind and a body, and those two parts casually interact.