Topics for final exam here.
Link to the book Doing Philosophy here.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Chapter 2 (review for test this friday) MWF Summer B
Chapter 2 (Philosophy of Mind)
2.1 Cartesian Dualism: Ms <---> Nonphysical substance that interacts with the body. Body and mind and different substances. Conclusion: Descartes deductive arguments are valid but unsound. Empirically speaking there is no immaterial substance. Thus, Cartesian theory as it stands is not viable.
2.2
Logical Behaviorism , behavioral dispositions: MS <---> BhS, where BhS are behavioral dispositions. C/E "Perfect pretender", "Super Spartans." Qualitative content (qualia = the unique, private feeling of our mental states). Conclusion: Logical Behaviorism is a materialist theory because it doesn't postulate the existence of non-material entities. It's a reductive theory because it holds that mental states can be translated into behavioral dispositions. But it doesn't account for the quality of mental states and the translation between behavior and mental states that it envisions cannot be performed.
Identity Theory: MS <---> BrS, where BrS is the passing of electro/chemical signals from cell to cell. C/E "Nagel's Bat" and "Lewis Pained Martian." (You must be able to grasp and understand these counterexamples and derive conclusions). Conclusion: Identity theory is superior to behaviorism because it can explain mental causation. But there is reason to doubt that mental states and identical to brain states because brain states are knowable by empirical investigation while mental states are not. Moreover, having a brain doesn't seem to be a necessary condition for having a mind (since an alien or a computer could have a mind).
Conscious experience: Nagel's bat experiment shows that mental states have this characteristic that can be felt from the "inside" from a first person POV. But physical properties can all be known from the "outside" --from a third person POV. Since complete knowledge of physical properties cannot yield knowledge of mental properties, the mind cannot be identified with the brain.
2.3 Functionalism: MS <---> FS. According to functionalism, to have a mind is to have the ability to perform certain functions. C/E "Lewis Pained Madman and Putnam's inverted spectrum (imagine a color-blind driver driving like we do, only he inverts green with red). "Turing Test for Intelligence: C/E Searle's Chinese Room. Intentionality (the ability of mental states to be "of" or "about" anything).
2.4 Eliminative Materialism:
Rorty's demons. Eliminative materialism provides an explanation for the
failure of reductive theories of mind: mental states cannot be reduced
to physical states because there's nothing to reduce --mental states
don't exist.
2.5 Property Dualism:
... is
the view that non-physical, mental properties (such as beliefs, desires
and emotions) inhere in some physical substances (namely brains).
Primitive Property (intentionality as a primitive property).
Emergent Property and Downward Causation.
2.1 Cartesian Dualism: Ms <---> Nonphysical substance that interacts with the body. Body and mind and different substances. Conclusion: Descartes deductive arguments are valid but unsound. Empirically speaking there is no immaterial substance. Thus, Cartesian theory as it stands is not viable.
2.2
Logical Behaviorism , behavioral dispositions: MS <---> BhS, where BhS are behavioral dispositions. C/E "Perfect pretender", "Super Spartans." Qualitative content (qualia = the unique, private feeling of our mental states). Conclusion: Logical Behaviorism is a materialist theory because it doesn't postulate the existence of non-material entities. It's a reductive theory because it holds that mental states can be translated into behavioral dispositions. But it doesn't account for the quality of mental states and the translation between behavior and mental states that it envisions cannot be performed.
Identity Theory: MS <---> BrS, where BrS is the passing of electro/chemical signals from cell to cell. C/E "Nagel's Bat" and "Lewis Pained Martian." (You must be able to grasp and understand these counterexamples and derive conclusions). Conclusion: Identity theory is superior to behaviorism because it can explain mental causation. But there is reason to doubt that mental states and identical to brain states because brain states are knowable by empirical investigation while mental states are not. Moreover, having a brain doesn't seem to be a necessary condition for having a mind (since an alien or a computer could have a mind).
Conscious experience: Nagel's bat experiment shows that mental states have this characteristic that can be felt from the "inside" from a first person POV. But physical properties can all be known from the "outside" --from a third person POV. Since complete knowledge of physical properties cannot yield knowledge of mental properties, the mind cannot be identified with the brain.
2.3 Functionalism: MS <---> FS. According to functionalism, to have a mind is to have the ability to perform certain functions. C/E "Lewis Pained Madman and Putnam's inverted spectrum (imagine a color-blind driver driving like we do, only he inverts green with red). "Turing Test for Intelligence: C/E Searle's Chinese Room. Intentionality (the ability of mental states to be "of" or "about" anything).
2.5 Property Dualism:
Primitive Property (intentionality as a primitive property).
Emergent Property and Downward Causation.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
MLA citation (paper guidelines)
Electronic Article Citation:
Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article." Journal Name, Volume. Issue (Year of Publication):
Page Numbers. Database Name. Web. Day Month Year of Access.
Example:
Phillips, Scott. "Criminology: Legal Disparities In The Capital Of Capital Punishment." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 99.3 (2009): 717-755. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19, Mar. 2010.
Print Book Citation:
Author Last name, First name. Book Title. Publisher Location: Name of Publisher, Year Published. Print.
Example:
McGilly, Kate. Classroom Lessons: Integrating Cognitive Theory and Classroom Practice. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 1994.
Web pages:
This can be a bit tricky, so pay attention: Scroll to the bottom of the webpage – this is a common location to cite when the webpage was last updated. Look for a link that says "About Us" or "Site Map" – This is a great place to find out more about who authored the website. Remember that a corporation or an organization can also be an author. If an individual author is not provided, list the corporation or organization as your author in the reference. When you cannot find all the information that you may need, include as much as possible and follow MLA guidelines for the general entry format as closely as possible. The ultimate point is to help your readers to locate the source.
The general format for a web page reference entry:
Author Last name, First name. Title of Web Page. Publication Year. Web. Day Month. Year.
Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of the Article." Journal Name, Volume. Issue (Year of Publication):
Page Numbers. Database Name. Web. Day Month Year of Access.
Example:
Phillips, Scott. "Criminology: Legal Disparities In The Capital Of Capital Punishment." Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 99.3 (2009): 717-755. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19, Mar. 2010.
Print Book Citation:
Author Last name, First name. Book Title. Publisher Location: Name of Publisher, Year Published. Print.
Example:
McGilly, Kate. Classroom Lessons: Integrating Cognitive Theory and Classroom Practice. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 1994.
Web pages:
This can be a bit tricky, so pay attention: Scroll to the bottom of the webpage – this is a common location to cite when the webpage was last updated. Look for a link that says "About Us" or "Site Map" – This is a great place to find out more about who authored the website. Remember that a corporation or an organization can also be an author. If an individual author is not provided, list the corporation or organization as your author in the reference. When you cannot find all the information that you may need, include as much as possible and follow MLA guidelines for the general entry format as closely as possible. The ultimate point is to help your readers to locate the source.
The general format for a web page reference entry:
Author Last name, First name. Title of Web Page. Publication Year. Web. Day Month. Year.
