Reductive physicalist accounts of the mind fail to fully explain the nature of mental states. Discuss.
5/3/15 ‘Reductive physicalist accounts of the mind fail to fully explain the nature of mental states.’ Discuss. (50 marks) Reductive Physicalist attempt to fully reduce the mind into a physical brain – the ‘internal content’ of the mind being fully explicable in terms of physical properties. By nature of mental states, we mean such arguments and theories as privacy of the mental, qualia, intentionality and mental physical causation. As we will see, all such problems can be explained and reduced via a reductive physicalist outlook. Substance Dualism fails to offer an argument in favour of a coherent argument in favour of a separate mind and mind, due to problems such as neural dependency – the argument goes that why should biological and neurological changes in the brain affect a non-physical mind – expressed through examples such as a person drinking alcohol. The results on a person after drinking alcohol, slowed reactions, higher tolerance of pain, points to the mind and brain being one and the same. Substance Dualism thus fails to provide a solution. Physiological Behaviourists hold that all behaviour, even very complex behaviour, can be fully explained in stimulus-response terms. The given model is a simple reflex: you sit on a chair in a relaxed position legs crossed, a doctor taps your knee and it bobs in the characteristic way. Here, a bit of
Explain Platos teaching about reality in his analogy of the cave. (25 marks)
Explain Plato’s teaching about reality in his analogy of the cave. Plato (c.427 BCE- c.347 BCE), was a famous philosopher and student of socrates. He created philosophical theories which are still discussed today, theories such as the theory of the forms are still debated in modern times by many people including current leading philosophers. Plato was also an absolutist therefore believed that principles would always be true no matter what. Plato’s ideas ranged from existence of the soul and the nature of beauty to who should run for government. The Analogy of the Cave is one of three similes used by plato to illustrate his theory of the forms - Plato believed that behind every object or concept in our world (the realm of appearances) there is an ideal form of it, in an unseen reality called the realm of the forms. The forms for these concepts or objects could be could be explained as ideal designs for certain examples of the concepts on earth, Plato calls these particulars. The analogy is allegorical therefore different parts of the story are symbolic to situations we as people can face. The analogy of the cave: There are prisoners who have been chained to a wall underground since they were born, they have never seen outside the cave and could only gave the wall. This wall showed shadows cast from the fire behind them, this was the only realty they knew and had
Do we perceive the world directly?
Do we perceive the world directly? Direct realism is the theory that when we perceive an object and its properties, we are experiencing that object directly. Direct realists believe that what we see, hear or feel is actually there. An example of this would be looking out of a window on a clear day; we can see blue sky, white clouds and green grass. A direct realist would say that, because we can see the sky, clouds, grass and their colour, it is actually there. Descartes presents his argument from illusion to reject the theory of direct realism. He says that our senses are capable of deceiving us and that they allow us to perceive the world differently from the way is actually is. An example of this is looking at a stick half submerged in water. The part of the stick that is submerged looks bent. A direct realist would say that, because the stick in the water looks bent, it is bent. They believe that what we see is identical to what is actually there. Descartes rejects this by saying that the only reason the stick looks bent is because of the light refraction in the water - which has been scientifically proven. This example proves that our senses are capable of deceiving us in certain circumstances. Therefore disproving the idea that we experience the world directly. Another argument that disproves direct realism is presented by Russell. His argument from perceptual
The Goodness of God
The Goodness of God b) Explain what is meant in the Bible by the phrase 'God is good'. Christians see the goodness of God as one of his main attributes. God is thought to have a character, much like humans and Christians describe God in many different ways, for example as a father, a just judge or a warrior etc. However the most important label to be applied to God, especially in the Old Testament is his omnibenevolence. Firstly, God's goodness in the respect that he demonstrated his love in creating humanity; Secondly his readiness to forgive, but also punish man justly throughout time and lastly the fact that God's laws (the ten commandments) were designed for man's benefit. Of course we must first distinguish between the two types of good. First there is moral good, where a person or thing is good because it does moral acts - it leads a moral life. For example Mother Theresa was a moral person. Then there is goodness as a quality. For example Cristiano Ronaldo is a good football player, but this does not necessarily make him a good person morally. The goodness of God is first shown in his actions as a creator; In Genesis 1-3 God created order out of chaos by ten commands. The Jews liked order as chaos was seen to be evil. In the Seven Day Creation story God's goodness holds the forces of evil at bay. Each act of creation is seen to be good. "And he saw that it was
The Cosmological Argument
The Cosmological Argument The Cosmological Argument attempts to prove that God exists by showing that there cannot be an infinite number of regressions of causes to things that exist. It states that there must be a final uncaused-cause of all things. This uncaused-cause is asserted to be God. Arguments like this are thought up to recognize why we and the universe exist. The Cosmological Argument takes several forms but is basically represented below. Cosmological Argument Things exist It is possible for those things not to exist Whatever has the possibility of non-existence, yet exists, has been caused to exist. Something cannot bring itself into existence because it would have had to exist to do that. There cannot be an infinite number of causes to bring something into existence, because an infinite regression of causes has no original cause, which means there is no cause of existence. Since the universe exists, it must have a cause, therefore there must be an uncaused cause of all things. This uncaused cause must be God. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) had a version of the Cosmological Argument called the Argument from Motion. He stated that things in motion could not have brought themselves into motion but must be caused to move. There cannot be an infinite regression of movers. Therefore, there must be an Unmoved Mover. This Unmoved Mover is God. Strengths of
The Cosmological Argument
The Cosmological Argument The Cosmological Argument is an a posteriori argument consisting of many arguments concerning the cause of the existence of the universe. The universe is contingent and is believed to have once not existed, and so needs an external agent which is a necessary being- God- to be a sufficient reason for the bringing about of its existence. The cosmological argument, an a posterior proof, is based on the view that the universe was caused by a Supreme Being external to the universe itself. The universe is contingent meaning that everything that exists is dependent on being caused by something else. In turn that was itself caused by something else, and so on. This series of cause and effect must have been started by something which itself is uncaused. The Cosmological argument concludes that a necessary, self- causing and self- sustaining being must have started the chain, and this must be God. The cosmological argument was not just a Christian attempt to prove the existence of a classical theistic deity. Plato put forward, in his book Laws, the idea of primary and secondary movers. The argument began with the fact that in order for motion or change to occur, there must be a prior agent causing it to do so. A secondary mover can only move once moved by another and a primary mover can move itself and others. The power to produce motion is logically prior
The Design Argument
The Design Argument In this essay I intend to look at the Design Argument in depth. I will outline the key features of the Design Argument, looking at the historical aspects, the modern version (including the anthropic principle) and the important people in the Argument for Design;, such as William Paley and David Hume. I will then examine the strengths and weaknesses, and evaluate. The Design Argument is also known as the Teleological Argument coming from the Greek word 'telos' meaning 'end' or 'purpose'. It is a form of natural theology based on reason rather than special revelation. Its basis is on the evidence of design that people can see in the world around them. The biblical writers assume that the world exhibits order and design and is the 'handiwork' of the Creator (God). Quote: 'For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse'. The Argument from Design originated with Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas said that nature points to the notion of order in that things seem to have an innate sense of purpose/design. We know that nothing that has purpose does so without the aid of a 'guiding hand' (He used the example of an archer shooting an arrow at a target), thus everything in nature is directed to its goal by God. Aquinas's
The Design Argument for the Existence of God
The Design Argument for the Existence of God ) Outline the Design Argument for the existence of God The Design Argument for the existence of God also called the teleological argument makes the basic assumption that there is order and design in our universe, which everything fits together and all things function to fulfil a specific purpose. The key idea associated with design arguments are that God's existence can be argued for, by the way things in the world are structured, or that the world cannot have come to be the way it is through the course of chance, but by a great designer - God (the God of classical theism.) The Design argument is concerned with showing that God is the Creator of the world; the basic argument for design is: The universe has order, purpose and regularity The complexity of the universe shows evidence of design Such design implies a designer The designer of the universe is God. It is argued that such design cannot come about by chance and can only be explained with reference to an intelligent, great designer. It is possible to demonstrate this by drawing an analogy between the works of human design and the works of nature, concluding that there are sufficient similarities to infer design of a similar nature. This is illustrated particularly well through the famous analogy by William Paley comparing the world to a watch. However it is also agreed
Religious language is meaningless. Discuss.
Relgious lnaunge is meanignless dicuss religious language is the communication of ideas about God, faith, belief and practice. The problem with religious language is that individuals have different interpretations of these concepts and will result in a difference in the use of everyday language. For some it is deemed meaningless because it is equivocal and the meaning is unclear. Yet, for some philosophers, religious language is meaningful and serves a purpose. This essay argument will disagree with the statement theat religious language is meaningless, as religious language is subjective. The logical positivists believed that language is only meaningful if it is either analytically or synthetically verified. Analytic statements are a priori & inductive . This means that the meanings behind the assertion can be found logically within it. For example, the statement "all bachelors are male" contains all the information needed within it to make the conclusion of whether it is true or false. The meaning of the word 'bachelor' indicates that they are male. It is a logical statement and therefore the logical positivists would regard this statement as meaningful. Synthetic statements are a posteriori & deductive . This means that the meanings behind an assertion can be found by empirically testing the claims a statement is asserting. For example, the claim "it's raining
Introduction to Philosophy.
Teacher : Father Christopher Caruana [email protected] Introduction to Philosophy : Philosophy consists of several branches and these are : . History of philosophy 2. Law 3. Moral Philosophy & Ethics 4. Mind Epistemology 5. Knowledge & Mind Senses 6. Political 7. Metaphysics (What is a Being?) 8. Philosophy of religion 9. Logic - Mathematical Logic. There are also types of philosophy and these are: . Classical /Ancient 2. Medieval 3. Modern 4. Contemporary Philosophy emerged from myth in 6Bc. Mythology is primly a religious answer concerning divinity & gods. The myths' genre is a literary poetry prose type. A myth tells us why a thing came about. It is not there to give a historical experience but why did it happen. The myth is a story. Example : the myth of creation as it wants to tell us why there are humans , animals universe etc... Myth contrasts the historical truth, mythology asks questions about : * Meaning * Origin * Life * Existence * Time /Eternity Homer Hesoid and Vergil --> The first one was a poet who tried to answer the question about how the world came about. The 3 Milesians Philosophers: Thales of Miletus Anaximander Anaximenes Tried to explain that the world came from water Thought that the infinite made the universe Thought that everything came from air /fumes. Concepts in Philosophy: Nomos --> Which means
