Unit 6 Assignment – Mind Body Problem PDF

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Unit 6 Assignment – Mind Body Problem Instructions: Please note that the questions below are based on the Unit readings and are intended to be both an outline of the units’ material and the basis for your Unit Assessment, so please give your best effort to answering them thoroughly. The task is to respond to all 30 of the questions below. Each question will be worth one point. The format for submission is to include the questions with the replies. Example: How does one know what the good life is? - The good life is… 1. List five common expressions that reinforce the idea of human beings having a mind and a body. Five common expressions are you are always on my mind, free your mind, it is a matter of mind over matter, he has a mind like a steel trap. 2. What did the French Philosopher Rene Descartes believe he had proven about minds? Descartes believed he proved that we have minds, that they are not material, and that we do not need to have a body to have a mind. 3. What is the meaning of the Latin expression Cogito Ergo Sum? Cogito Ergo Sum means I think, therefore I am. 4. What two substantially different realms of existence did Rene Descartes believe existed? And, how was the Brain and Mind divided in these realms? Descartes believed there was two different realms of existence, the physical and the spiritual. The Brain is part of the physical realm and the Mind is part of the non-physical realm. 5. List 5 characteristics of both the physical and non-physical realms. Characteristics of the Physical Realm: Bodies have mass, density, location, tactile properties, and duration. Characteristics of the Non-Physical Realm: Minds have no mass, density, location, tactile properties, nor duration. 6. Define Dualism, and explain the major philosophical problem that arises out of a dualistic perspective of reality. Dualism is the view that there are two sorts of substance in the universe , the physical and the nonphysical. The major problem about this perspective is how does a non-physical mind bring about a causal change in a physical substance? 7. Explain the problem of interaction of the Mind-Body Problem. The problem of interaction of the Mind-Body Problem is that if the mind is a non-physical entity and not the physical brain then harm to the physical brain should not cause any changes in the functioning of the mind. 8. What was the function of Rene Descartes “Pineal Gland”? The function of Descartes’ Pineal Gland is that it’s the master control unit where the soul contacted the brain. 9. What is the major obstacle to the “Pineal Gland” Theory? The major obstacle is that the Pineal Gland is still a physical thing. 10. What does the research of neuroscience indicate regarding the interactive relationship of the mind and body? The neuroscientific research indicates that the entire list is accounted for without need of postulating or claiming or believing in some non-physical mind.

11. List the traditional and most logical options that respond to the Mind-Body Problem. Options that respond to the Mind-Body Problem are that the chemicals are physical, they influence the physical brain, the brain influences the feelings and memory and thinking of the person. 12. What are the possible approaches to the Mind-Body Problem? Possible approaches to the Mind-Body Problem are Materialism, and Idealism. 13. What is Interactionism? Interactionism is when the minds and bodies exist and interact in some way 14. What is Epiphenomenalism? Epiphenomenalism is when the body acts on mind but minds do NOT act on bodies. 15. Explain the Double Aspect Theory. In the Double Aspect Theory there is one substance with two aspects (mind/body) 16. What is meant by Parallelism? Include in your response the theories of Pre-Established Harmony and Occasionalism. Parallelism is when the minds and bodies exist in separate dimensions and are coordinated by some force outside both of them. Two derived theories are the Pre-Established Harmony, in which minds and bodies are set in motion and coordinated from the beginning of time by a deity that creates the universe; and Occasionalism, in which the occasion of the mind making a decision the body is moved by the creator to do whatever the mind has decided to make the body do. 17. What does “Monistic Materialism” hold to be true about the metaphysical status of the universe? Monistic materialism states that the brain accounts for the activities previously associated with the mind. 18. Research and define the following terms: Behaviorism, Logical Behaviorism, and Semantic Behaviorism. Behaviorism is the theory that humans and animals can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings. Logical behaviorism is the theory of mind that mental concepts can be explained in terms of behavioral concepts. Semantic behaviorism is the meaning of natural and artificial languages. 19. Research and define the following terms: Functionalism, and Structuralism. Functionalism is the theory about the nature of mental states. According to functionalism, mental states are identified by what they do, rather than by what they are made of. Structuralism states that all human activities are constructed and not natural, and that everything has meaning because of the engage system. 20. What does “Monistic Idealism” hold to be true about the metaphysical status of the universe? Monistic Idealism states that all that exists are ideas. 21. What are some of the problems associated with Idealism? Some problems associated with idealism include the similarity of perception of objects, the persistence of objects, and the problem of other minds. 22. What questions are considered in the philosophical sub category know as Philosophy of Mind? Some questions considered in philosophy of the mind are: where are they?; can we spot such things?; and why do we need to suppose they exist? 23. What is meant by the term Physicalism?

Physicalism states that the real world consists simply of the physical world 24. List 3 objection to the following statement: “Since both computers and brains are computational/information processing devices, it should be possible, in principle, to build a computer that thinks.” Three objections are that: it’s impossible to build a computer that can do everything you do; computers are predictable, while humans aren’t; and a computer only does what it is programmed to do, while humans have free will to act themselves. 25. What is the meaning given to John Searle’s “Chinese Room Experiment”? (75-100 words) The meaning given to the Chinese Room Experiment is that computers are just machines without the capacity to learn things on their own, they are just following the instructions given to them. Searle’s theory was that even if they seem to be capable of learning something, they are just following instructions. That’s where the whole experiment comes to play, a person without knowledge of the Chinese language is instructed to write phrases in this language.They have the instructions in English of what to do. Eventually, the person will become efficient in this task but their knowledge of the language will not. 26. How does Daniel Dennett’s “New Epiphenomenalism” attempt to explain human consciousness? Dennett’s “New Epiphenomenalism” attempts to explain human consciousness by saying that consciousness is not really that complex, and that it depends on the person that is trying to figure it out. The complexity of it lies in the mixture of sections of the brain that are capable of forming thought and reason to the extent that the perception of a consciousness is formed. 27. What does philosopher Colin McGinn mean when he says we are “lacking the machinery” to understand human consciousness? McGinn meant that our minds are not capable of understanding consciousness completely, since our brains are not developed enough to do so, just like rats and monkeys cannot understand quantum mechanics. 28. Explain the Quantum Consciousness: Theory of Roger Penrose. Quantum Consciousness states that consciousness is the link between the quantum world, in which a single object can exist in two places at the same time, and the so-called classical world of familiar objects where this cannot happen. 29. Do you think that artificial intelligence can ever achieve humanlike consciousness? Explain your position. Yes, I feel like human intelligence will achieve humanlike consciousness because there are so many mysteries about the human consciousness that whatever information scientists plug into these machines, they will have the same doubts and mysteries that humans have, therefore having a conscious similar to the human one. 30. Which approach to answering the Mind-Body Problem are you most in agreement with, if any? I agree with the Interactionist approach because I feel like, both the body and the mind, have control on humans and that they both interact to achieve different things....