Logic and Experiments
Fill in the blanks:
Deductive logic is used to get a ___ conclusion.
Inductive logic is used to get a ___ conclusion.
Deductive logic is used to get a guaranteed conclusion.
Inductive logic is used to get a probable conclusion.
According to Descartes, why can we not trust our senses when it comes to knowledge about the material world?
Give an example.
Our senses sometimes deceive us, so for all we know, they always deceive us.
What is the mind-body problem?
The mind-body problem asks how our consciousness is related to the body. Is our consciousness purely a result of the brain, or is there something else going on? If there is something else, how does that "something else" cause things to happen in our physical bodies?
Give an example of first and second order desires.
First order desires are our first reaction/driving motivations. Second order desires or higher-order volition are the thoughts that we have about our first order desires. Example:
I want to watch another episode of a TV show because I'm tired.
I wish that I didn't want to watch another show, because midterms are next week and I should be studying.
Epistemology
The branch of philosophy that studies knowledge
Assess the logic of the following statement:
Some currency is forgery, so for all we know, all currency is forgery.
Explain why this statement is or is not logical.
This is an example of a statement where the premise is true and the conclusion is not only unlikely, but impossible. The existence of forged currency necessitates real currency.
Explain the different methods of acquiring knowledge in Rationalism and Empiricism.
Rationalism is a branch of epistemology that uses reasoning is the primary source of knowledge. Empiricism is a branch of epistemology that uses empirical observation as the primary source of knowledge.
What is the "hard problem" of consciousness as stated by David Chalmers?
The hard problem of consciousness asks how and why humans have qualitative, subjective experience. It asks, "why is the performance of these functions accompanied by experience?"
Define the Principle of Alternate Possibilities and explain why this concept is incompatible with determinism.
PAP says that a moral agent is free if and only if the moral agent could have done otherwise. This is in contrast with determinism, which states that because of the laws of nature we are incapable of taking a different action and having alternate possibilities.
Panpsychism
The idea that mental experience is fundamental and ubiquitous in the natural world.
Can a deductive argument be valid without being true? Give an example.
Yes, a deductive argument can be valid without being sound.
ex: All dogs have two tails, I have a pet dog, therefore, my pet has two tails
State the Five Minute Hypothesis.
The universe and everything in it was created five minutes ago. It sprang into existence with age (fully grown trees, fabricated memories, fossils, etc.)
Describe the Philosophical Zombie thought experiment and what Chalmers claims that this proves.
Philosophical zombies are identical to "ordinary" people in most ways. They talk and act like ordinary people. They react to things as an ordinary person would - expressing pain at an injury, smiling at a joke. BUT, philosophical zombies have no conscious experience. There is no "what it's like" about the zombie's experience with the world. Chalmers claims that because we can conceive of it, consciousness is not physical.
What are the two ends of the spectrum/most conflicting perspectives in the study of free will? Bonus points for definitions.
Determinism and libertarianism.
Determinism: The past and the present dictate the future. Free will is impossible, as all current actions are brought about by actions in the past. Actions and events occur because they must occur, given the laws of nature and causality.
Libertarianism: Free will exists. Free will is the ability to truly have the option between choices. Events, actions, and choices are not determined. Individuals are capable of making a different choice.
Category mistake
A type of logical fallacy or a semantic error in which things belonging to a particular category are presented as if they belong to a different category.
What does the Libet Experiment claim to tell us about the brain and free will?
The Libet Experiment claims that the brain displays evidence of readiness potential before a conscious decision is made to perform an action. This would mean that conscious thoughts are just "reports" on what has already happened in the brain at a physical level.
Give three examples of the primary qualities of an object.
Solidity, density, weight, mass, height, depth, width, extension
Describe the thought experiment that Hilary Putnam proposed as a critique of logical behaviorism.
X-Worlders are warriors who have repressed the urge to display signs of pain to the extent that they no longer have pain behavior or the disposition to display pain behavior. When an X-Worlder is injured, they experience pain as a mental event, but have no urge to display that pain.
Describe Laplace's demon.
Bonus: If we take Laplace's demon to be theoretically (metaphysically) possible, this possibility guarantees what two points?
Laplace's demon conceptualized an "intellect" that is all knowing - conscious of all the laws of nature, the "positions of all items of which nature is composed" AND is capable of submitting this date to analysis.
Bonus: Determinism and predictability.
Principle of Alternate Possibilities
A moral agent is free if and only if the moral agent could have done otherwise. A person is performing a free action if that person could have taken a different action or decided to take no action.
Describe the experiment that Daniel Dennett uses to challenge the idea of "subjective experience."
BONUS: What specific vocab term does Dennett take issue with?
Musicians were surveyed on the "subjective" experience of hearing different musical notes. The responses, when analyzed statistically, show a significant amount of overlap in the terms used to describe "subjective experience."
BONUS: Qualia
In contrast with Descartes's cogito ergo sum (I am thinking, therefore I am), Berkeley gives us esse est percipi. What is the translation of this phrase, what problems does it cause, and what solution does Berkeley propose?
To be is to be perceived. The problem that arises is that once things stop being perceived, they stop existing. The solution that Berkeley proposes is that God is the "ultimate perceiver."
Describe the Turing Test and its application in philosophy. Bonus points for linking to a thought experiment discussed in the same lecture.
The Turing Test is an experiment in which an individual has two conversations - one with a human and one with a computer. Turing proposed that if the computer can convince you that it is thinking like us, it is actually thinking like us. This raises questions about personhood - Lycan's Harry the Robot thought experiment.
What are the three premises of the dilemma of free will?
1. The universe follows deterministic laws.
2. Free will is the ability to do otherwise according to those laws.
3. Free will exists.
Multiple Realizability
Mental states are not dependent on the physical medium that creates it (such as the brain). Because mental states are not limited to specific substances, they can come about in different ways.