Philo test 2
In Personal Identity Theory, what is the difference between accidental properties and essential properties?
Accidental properties: Changeable traits (hair color, job, mood). Essential properties: Core traits that define what something is — losing them means ceasing to be that thing. Example: A triangle must have three sides (essential), but can be red or blue (accidental).
What do philosophers mean by the "intentionality" of mental states, and which theories of mind seem especially lacking in accounting for it?
"Aboutness" — mental states refer to things. Computational and physicalist theories struggle to explain how meaning or aboutness arises from mere processing.
If the experience of feeling free is almost universal, why can't we use that as proof that we do indeed have free will?
Illusions feel real; the experience of freedom doesn't demonstrate actual metaphysical freedom.
Understand Searle's Chinese Room thought experiment, and how it was supposed to cast doubt on the validity of the Turing test.
A person following rules to manipulate Chinese symbols can pass the Turing test without understanding. Shows syntax ≠ semantics.
What is Locke's tale of the Princess and the Cobbler supposed to show?
A prince's consciousness moves into a cobbler's body. Who is the person now — the prince or the cobbler? Locke argues it's the person with the prince's memories — showing personal identity = continuity of consciousness, not body.
What is the difference in philosophy between numerical identity and qualitative identity?
Numerical identity: Being one and the same entity (A = A). Example: You now and you yesterday are numerically identical if you are literally the same person. Qualitative identity: Sharing the same properties or qualities. Example: Two identical phones are qualitatively identical but not numerically identical.
What example did Professor Max use in lecture both on this day and on the last day of the Free Will section to illustrate how some philosophers don't believe mental properties can be reduced to physical properties?
To show that some philosophers reject reducing mental to physical properties, he used the example that a complete description of brain states doesn't capture the 1st-person experience of deliberation or willing, illustrating property dualism.
Understand Gilbert Ryle's notion of a "category mistake" to critique the idea that the "mind" is more than just a way of referring to the sum total of the various mental properties we already talk about, and the ways they relate.
To treat "mind" as a separate entity is a mistake — it's not a thing, but a way of describing how we act and think.
What are the two options/limitations Martin Benjamin suggests might be true regarding our attempts to solve the free will debate?
1. We might never solve the free will question. 2. The debate itself might rest on a false dichotomy — we may misunderstand what "free" and "determined" even mean.
What are the four basic steps in the libertarian approach to free will?
1. Free actions are self-caused, not determined. 2. Agents have genuine choice. 3. Responsibility presupposes freedom. 4. Determinism is false.
What is a common theme in the history of Philosophy that Professor Max talked about by illustrating with examples from prior classes?
A common theme Professor Max emphasized is the limit of human understanding—that throughout philosophy, we repeatedly reach questions (like free will or the mind-body problem) our concepts can't fully solve.
What was LePlace's Superbeing, and how was it used in the Free Will lecture?
A hypothetical intellect knowing all positions and laws of nature could predict the entire future. Used to illustrate strict determinism — the universe as a closed causal system.
How does John Hick attempt to refute Determinism?
Argues moral responsibility and genuine personal growth require some free will; determinism undermines moral meaning.
What are some of the complications and other thought experiments that spell trouble for a simple Body Theory of identity?
Body swaps, teleportation, and cases of brain transplants complicate it. If your mind is in another body, are you your old body or your new one?
What Eastern tradition also seems to teach that the self is an illusion?
Buddhism — especially the doctrine of Anatta ("no-self"). The self is an illusion that causes attachment and suffering.
What are some of the complications of grounding personal identity in a Memory Theory of Personal Identity?
Circularity: You can't use memory to define identity if memory itself presupposes identity. Forgetting: We forget much of our past — do we stop being ourselves? False memories: If you "remember" something falsely, does that make it your memory?
What analogy to the physical world does Raymond Smullyan make in his dialogue, "Is God a Taoist?", to argue for free will?
Compares free will to the physical principle of complementarity in quantum physics — opposites may coexist harmoniously.
What is panpsychism as a theory of the mind, and what is one of its possible virtues?
Consciousness is a basic feature of all matter. Virtue: Avoids the "hard problem" of how mind arises from matter.
What is the objection to identity theory sometimes referred to as carbon chauvinism?
Criticism that identity theory limits mind to biological carbon-based brains — excluding artificial intelligence or alien minds.
What is the doctrine of hard determinism?
Every event (including human action) has a cause → free will is an illusion.
What are some of functionalism's supposed virtues?
Explains multiple realizability. Bridges psychology and computer science (mind = software, brain = hardware).
What is the difference between fatalism and causal determinism?
Fatalism: The future is fixed no matter what. Causal determinism: The future depends on prior causes, but those causes determine it necessarily.
What are some of the questions in a modern version of the "problem of other minds"?
How can we know other beings truly have minds and aren't "philosophical zombies"? Now applied to AI and animal consciousness.
What are the two "nuclear options" for dealing with doubts about the continuity or very existence of the self, one expressed by Hume, the other by Heraclitus?
Hume: There is no self — only a bundle of perceptions ("bundle theory"). Heraclitus: Everything is constant flux ("You can't step in the same river twice"). The self is ever-changing.
What is the soul theory of identity?
Identity is based on having the same immaterial soul over time. Supported by many religious traditions.
Be able to explain the last theory of identity we looked at, the self not as a "thing", but a self-organizing process, especially the idea that the self is just the narrative we construct of our lives.
Identity might better be seen as psychological connectedness — continuity of beliefs, intentions, personality, and character over time — rather than perfect memory.
Why might we want to reject the philosopher's quest to figure out personal identity and instead focus on psychological continuity?
Identity might better be seen as psychological connectedness — continuity of beliefs, intentions, personality, and character over time — rather than perfect memory.
What is Leibniz's King of China Thought experiment supposed to show?
If God made you the King of China but removed your memories and consciousness, would you still be you? Shows that consciousness, not mere existence of a soul, defines identity.
What was the standard version of the original Turing test, and what was it designed to show?
If a machine can converse indistinguishably from a human, it counts as intelligent. Tests behavioral equivalence.
What are the two horns of the free will/determinism dilemma?
If determinism is true, we aren't free. If indeterminism is true, actions are random — still not free.
Why might Causal Indeterminism present an unsatisfying answer to the Free Will debate?
If events are random (not determined), then choices aren't free — just random. Randomness ≠ freedom.
What is the "problem of interaction" that a Cartesian dualist faces, and how do epiphenomenalists propose to solve it?
If mind and body are separate substances, how do they causally interact? Epiphenomenalism: The body affects the mind, but the mind doesn't affect the body (mental states are byproducts).
How did Clarence Darrow make use of the doctrine of Determinism?
In the Leopold and Loeb case (1924), he argued that criminals shouldn't be punished harshly because their actions were determined by upbringing and biology.
Be able to explain Descartes's inconceivability and indivisibility arguments against the mind being identical to the body, and the objections we considered in the recorded lecture.
Inconceivability Argument: I can conceive of a mind without a body; therefore, they're distinct substances. Objection: Conceivability doesn't prove possibility. Indivisibility Argument: Body is divisible, mind is not → different substances. Objection: Brain injuries divide mental functions.
What might be the pragmatist's approach to the philosopher's free will debate?
Instead of obsessing over metaphysics, focus on practical effects — act as if we're free because it matters for ethics and society.
What is the emergent materialism theory of the mind, and what is one of its virtues?
Mental properties emerge from physical complexity but are not reducible to it. Virtue: Accounts for novelty (e.g., consciousness emerging from brain organization).
What is functionalism?
Mental states are defined by their function (what they do), not by what they're made of.
What is the doctrine of multiple realizability?
Mental states can be realized in different physical systems (human brains, AI circuits, etc.). Challenges one-to-one brain-mind identity.
What is the double aspect theory of mental states, and what makes it different from all the other theories we considered?
Mind and matter are two aspects of one underlying reality. Distinct from others because it avoids dualism and reductionism — both aspects are fundamental and irreducible.
Why might the principle of using Occam's razor lead one to cast doubt on the soul theory of identity?
Occam's Razor: Don't multiply entities without necessity. The "soul" adds an unnecessary metaphysical entity — if psychological and physical explanations suffice, the soul theory becomes redundant.
Explore the notion that it might be hard to truly imagine a mind existing without a body.
Our mental life depends on sensory and bodily experience; imagining pure disembodied thought may be incoherent.
How is giving primacy to 1st-person experience supposed to get around the free will/determinism problem?
Our subjective experience of choice is irreducible; focusing on first-person perspective sidesteps deterministic explanations.
What was the "Total Turing Test"?
Requires not just language ability but sensory and physical interaction with the world — a more complete test for understanding.
What are some of the virtues of the identity theory?
Simple, naturalistic, scientifically grounded. Avoids dualism; mental states are just brain states.
What is the second major objection to the identity theory of the mind?
Subjective experiences ("qualia") can't be fully explained by brain states alone.
What makes the Malagasy experience of time different from all the others we discussed?
The Malagasy (Madagascar) view time spatially reversed from Western logic: The past is in front of you (visible, known). The future is behind you (unseen, unknown). This contrasts with nearly all other cultural models. Implication: The future is not something to "plan for" as in Western culture, but something that "arrives" unexpectedly — making the present and collective memory central.
Linear Time
Time is seen as moving in a straight line from past → present → future. Associated with Western/Abrahamic traditions (e.g., Christianity, Judaism, Islam). Time is irreversible and progress-oriented — history "moves forward." Example: The Industrial Revolution's idea of "time is money." Issues: People from linear-time cultures may view others as "wasting time" or being "late," causing frustration in intercultural communication.
What was the argument made in the lecture that the Bible does not appear to promote Cartesian dualism, despite it being the most popular view among Christians today? What view of the mind and body did the lecture claim the Bible actually promotes?
The lecture argued that the Bible supports holistic dualism or monism — humans as unified body-soul beings, not separate. Resurrection, not disembodied afterlife, is central in Christian scripture.
cyclical time
Time repeats in cycles — seasons, life, rebirth, karma, etc. Found in Hinduism, Buddhism, many Indigenous and East Asian cultures. Example: Hindu concept of samsara (cycle of birth, death, rebirth). Issues: People from cyclical-time cultures may see change as natural or inevitable, not as "progress," clashing with linear notions of advancement.
What is property dualism, and how does it differ from Cartesian dualism?
There is one substance (physical), but it has both physical and mental properties. Differs from Cartesian dualism (two substances).
Multi-Active time
Time is flexible; people focus on human relationships and doing many things simultaneously. Common in Southern European and Latin American cultures. Example: In Spain or Italy, schedules bend for social events — conversations and relationships matter more than strict punctuality. Issues: Can cause conflict with linear-time cultures that value efficiency over flexibility.
What leads David Hume to doubt the existence of a self?
When he introspects, he never perceives a stable "self" — only fleeting sensations, emotions, and thoughts. Therefore, "self" is just a convenient fiction we create from memory and habit.
