Phil 194 Final Part 2

Armstrong thinks that we can identify mental states with brain states if we can provide a casual analysis or definition of mental concepts. What is meant by a casual analysis or definition of mental concepts?

A mental state, like being in pain, is analyzed or defined in terms of a functional/causal state. What is pain? It is something caused by things like being pinched, punched, scratched, poked, falling down, etc. And, it is something that causes one to say "ouch", take aspirin, lie down, etc.

Armstrong thinks mental states are identical to brain states. What does he mean by this?

A mental state, like feeling tired, is identical to some particular physical brain state. A mental state, like being in pain, for instance, is identical to a brain state like c-fibers firing.

Hume says that all the perceptions of the mind can be divided into two categories— impressions and ideas. What is (are) the difference(s) between impressions and ideas.

An impression is a perception of a thing when we are experiencing that thing. For instance, an impression of being in pain is when we are in pain. We have an idea of thing when we later think about that thing. For instance, when we have an idea of pain, we are not at that time in pain. We are merely thinking about it. An impression of a thing has therefore greater liveliness or force than an idea of that thing.

Cleanthes's argument for God's existence is an argument from design. How does the argument go?

Anything with complexity, that is, anything with parts that work to together for a purpose, like a house, has design. ii: The universe and the various things in it, like the human eye, are complex. C1: The universe and the various things in it, like the human eye, are designed. iii: Anything designed has a designer. C2: The universe and the various things in it, like the human eye, have a designer. iv: The only thing or being capable of designing the entire inverse and the various things in it, like the human eye, is God. C3: God is the designer of the universe and the various things in it, like the human eye. C4: God exists.

Descartes asserts that though he possesses a body, he is not identical to it. What's the argument?

Even without a body, so long as he thinks, he exists.

Hume says all our ideas or all the ideas in our minds are copies of impressions. What does this mean?

For every simple idea I possess, that idea is a copy of a previous impression.

Descartes asserts that he is essentially a thinking thing. How does the argument go?

He can doubt the existence of his body. He conceives that even without a body, we could still exist. He cannot doubt that he thinks. As soon as he ceases to think, he ceases to exist.

Philo raises doubts about the argument? What are his reasons for resisting Cleanthes's argument?

He thinks there are important differences between the universe and something like a house. Even if we are thus forced to say the house has a designer, we are not, perhaps, forced to say the same about the universe and all the various things in it.

Philo mentions an Indian philosopher and an elephant. What is the point he's making here?

Here is a question: On what does the Earth rest? Here is an unsatisfying answer: On an elephant. Why is this unsatisfying? This answer simply leads to another question. On what does the elephant rest. Here is a question: Who designed the universe and the various things in it? Here is an unsatisfying answer: God. Why is this unsatisfying? This answer simply leads to another question. Who designed God? Who or what is responsible for his intellect?

Hume says "but though our thought seems to possess this unbounded liberty, we shall find, upon a nearer examination, that it is really confined within very narrow limits, and that all this creative power of the mind amounts to no more than the faculty of compounding, transposing, augmenting, or diminishing the materials afforded us by the senses and experience." What is he saying here?

Just as there are laws governing what the body can do, there are laws governing what the mind can do. We cannot have ideas of things for which we did not have a previous impressions. If we do have ideas of things for which we did not have a previous impression, those ideas are complex. We can generate complex ideas by taking simple ideas and putting them together, transposing them, augmenting them, diminishing them, etc.

. What then, according to Socrates, is knowledge?

Knowledge is rationally supported true belief

Suppose you are guiding people trying to get to Larissa (a city in Greece). Does it matter whether you know how to get there or merely have a true belief about how to get there? Explain.

No. We will be able to guide them correctly whether we know how to get there or merely have a true belief about how to get there.

. Descartes writes, "I must remember that I am a man, and that consequently I am in the habit of sleeping, and in my dreams representing to myself the same things or sometimes even less probable things, than do those who are insane in their waking moments. How often has it happened to me that in the night I dreamt that I found myself in this particular place, that I was dressed and seated near the fire, whilst in reality I was lying undressed in bed! At this moment it does indeed seem to me that it is with eyes awake that I am looking at this paper". What's he saying here?

Our dreams deceive us. And, I do not know that I am not dreaming and being deceived right now. I might be dreaming right now. Why should I say that? I am a man and thus I sometimes sleep and dream.

Russell confesses that philosophy, unlike many of the other sciences, has been unsuccessful in providing definite answers to the questions it asks. What does Russell attribute this to?

Philosophy once included all the sciences. But, once definite answers are provided for any subject or science, the subject or science ceases to be identified as philosophy. It then becomes a separate science. Astronomy and psychology were once a branch of philosophy. But, once we started to get definite answers in those sciences, they cease to be thought of as branches of philosophy. Only those for which we don't seem able to get definite answers we identify as philosophy.

Armstrong says that poisons are considered poisons because of their active powers. What does he mean by this.

Something is poison only because it has the power to cause harm an organism. Without organisms, there would be no such thing as poison.

According to Descartes, perhaps I do not know that I have hands. What's the argument?

Sometimes our senses deceive us. Sometimes our dreams deceive us. Our dreams make it seem like we are awake and taking a walk, but we are not. We are sleeping in our beds. Perhaps we do not have hands. But, our dreams deceive us into thinking that we have hands.

What the second argument?

Take a blind person who has never seen and thus never had an impression of a color like red. Since he has never had an impression of red, he does not have an idea of red.

Descartes asserts that the mind and the body are distinct. What's the argument?

The body is divisible. The mind is not.

Cleanthes asks Philo to anatomize and survey the structure of the human eye. What is he arguing here?

The complexity of human eye forces us to posit design. The human eye has to be the result of an intelligent mind.

Hume offers two arguments to the effect that all our ideas are copies of impressions. What's the first argument?

The first argument is that we cannot think of any idea for which there was not a previous impression.

If philosophy cannot provide definite answers to its own questions, what, according to Russell, is the fundamental value of philosophy?

The fundamental value is in the grand questions it asks. These questions enlarge our conceptions of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish our dogmatic assurances.

Cleanthes asks Philo to imagine walking into a library and finding therein books containing the most refined reason and most exquisite beauty. What is the point he's making here?

The refined beauty and the exquisite beauty found in the books force us to say that there is intelligence behind those books. The books had to have been written by intelligent minds. Don't we find refined reason and excite beauty in nature. Think about the intricacies of our solar system. Think about the human brain and the human eye.These must be the result of an intelligent mind.

Descartes says that our senses sometimes deceive us. For instance, my eyes seem to tell me that a pencil in a glass of water is bent. But, it isn't. What should we make of the fact that the senses sometimes deceive us in this way?

The senses cannot always be trusted. So then, what the senses tell us are subject to doubt. That means the senses are not a source of knowledge.

Russell asks what the value of philosophy is. What, according to Russell, is the value of philosophy?

The value of philosophy is in how it affects the life of those that study it. Philosophy provides goods for the mind.

Descartes writes, "I remind myself that on many occasions I have in sleep been deceived by similar illusions, and in dwelling carefully on this reflection I see so manifestly that there are no certain indications by which we may clearly distinguish wakefulness from sleep that I am lost in astonishment. And my astonishment is such that it is almost capable of persuading me that I now dream." What point is he making here?

There is no way to knowing right now that I am not dreaming. There are no certain markers or indicators I can point to that says I am not dreaming right now. So, for all I know, I am dreaming right now.

Is there a difference between knowledge and mere true belief? If so, what's the difference?

There is. Knowledge is a supported true belief. That is, we have knowledge when we have rational support for our true belief.

How does identifying mental states with casual states allow us to identify mental states with brain states?

We identify pain with whatever a certain functional/causal role. Pain = whatever is caused by being pinched, punched, etc. and in turn causes saying "ouch", taking aspirin, etc. If we can identify the brain state that plays this particular functional/casual role, we have identify pain with a particular brain state.

An example of a causal concept is the concept of poison. Explain.

What is poison? It is the thing that causes an organism, when the organism is exposed to it, to die or become sick.

Socrates says that true belief or true opinion is no less useful than knowledge. Why does he say this?

When we have a true belief, we are no worse off than when we have knowledge.When I have a true belief about how to get to Larissa and when I know how to get there, I will be able to correctly guide people the same.

Russell says that the man who has no tincture of philosophy goes through life imprisoned in the prejudices derived from common sense, from the habitual beliefs of his age or his nation, and from convictions which have grown up in his mind without the co-operation or consent of his deliberate reason. In your own words, say what he is saying here.

Without some philosophical inclination, we go through life, without careful thought or having properly reason, believing things with dogmatic assurance out of habit and custom.

If there is a sense in which true belief is no less useful than knowledge, why, according to Socrates, should we prize knowledge over mere true belief?

Yes. True beliefs can escape us because it is not "tied" down. When we do not have rational support for our true beliefs, they can escape us. When we have knowledge and thus support for our true beliefs, the true belief is tied down. It does not escape us.