Key Concepts
A fact is something true about the world. An opinion is something you believe about the world
Descartes is referred to as a dualist. Explain what this means.
Ryle and Armstrong are monists explain what this means.
A monist believes there is only one substance and that everything can be explained in terms of that substance. Ryle and Armstrong both believe that substance is physical
What does the persistence question ask about a person?
What counts as me surviving
What does the composition question about persons ask?
What stuff am I made of
Explain the relationship between a concept and its referent
A concept is a general term and a referent is what it picks out in the world. For example the concept "dog" picks out particular dogs.
Explain Descartes claim "I think, therefore I am"
What kind of concepts does Armstrong thing mental concepts are and what does he think they refer to?
Armstrong thinks mental concepts are causal concepts and they refer to the brain which causes the to come into existence.
Explain the brute physicality view of the persistence of a person.
Brute physicality claims that as long as a persons body survives, they survive
Which persistence view (or views) of person hood are able to make embryos count as persons. Explain why
Brute physical continuity-because you have the same body as an embryo
What is a causal concept? Give an example.
A causal concept is a concept defined by that causal powers it has or what caused it. For example, poison is defined by what it does when administered to people
What does Ryle think mental states like beliefs and desires really are?
He thinks they are not real things but metaphorical ways of talking about abilities or tendencies of the physical organism.
Explain the notion of mind independence
Mind independence is the way things are independent of our perception and ideas about them. Facts try to describe a mind independent world
Explain the psychological continuity view of a person
This view claims that as long as a persons mental states at one time are directly or indirectly causally related to a persons mental states at another time, then they are the same person
Why are split brain patients such an interesting object of study for philosophers doing work on person hood?
They seem to have two streams of experience, which raises the question of weather they are two people or not
How do philosophers define knowledge? Explain each part of the definition.
Justified true belief. You have to believe, have good evidence for it, and it has to line up with the way the world actually is.
Explain Descartes' method of "radical doubt" and what exactly this leads him to doubt.
Descartes commits himself to doubting everything he cannot prove to be true, this leads him to doubt the existence of anything he perceives through his senses, including his own body
Explain the difference between atomic and composite concepts
Atomic concepts are not made of parts, they cannot be broken down into other concepts. For example, color, you cannot break this down. Composite concepts are made of parts. For example a unicorn can be broken down into legs, horn, body etc.
In the cloning scenario where you go in a box and have a copy made of you, but cannot see in the box, there is an outcome of the situation that there is a fact about but we can possible have evidence for, so cannot possibly know. What is this fact and why can't we have evidence for it.
This fact is who the original you is, although one of them is the copy, nobody can ever know since they could not look in the box
Explain the difference between ego theory and bundle theory of person hood
Ego theory assumes there is some singular, non reducible thing having experiences/mental states and that is you. Bundle theory claims all you are is the process of these experiences and mental states tied together in a "bundle"
What is a category mistake? Give an example.
A category mistake is when we add something to a group of like things that does not actually belong because it is a different type of thing. An example could be left glove, right glove, pair of gloves.
List Descartes three arguments for doubting his senses in order of weakest to strongest. Explain why each is stronger than the last.
1.) Sometimes my sense deceive me, like when I see a mirage-but this only applies sometimes, and we can always check to make sure
2.) I could be dreaming-but in dreams we are still seeing objects from real life, they are just put together in a different way
3.) An evil demon could be deceiving me-This is the strongest because we can doubt everything we perceive through the senses.
This is a concept that cannot possibly refer to anything. One example is a unicorn.
Explain the Parfit's transportation paradox
It seems that we have to find an abritrary stopping point when it comes to the number of cells that make the replica being continuous with you
What type of view of person hood do you think Dennet's article is closest to suggesting? (out of brain continuity, psych continuity, and brute physical continuity)
Answer could be either brain or psych continuity