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Week 1, Lecture 2 Aug. 29, 2013

Week 1, Lecture 2 Aug. 29, 2013. Arguments, Dualism. Arguments. Our Q uestions. What is the metaphysical nature of mental states? In particular, how do mental states relate to the brain states studied by neuroscientists? How do minds represent? Consciousness? What is a person?

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Week 1, Lecture 2 Aug. 29, 2013

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  1. Week 1, Lecture 2Aug. 29, 2013 Arguments, Dualism

  2. Arguments

  3. Our Questions • What is the metaphysical nature of mental states? In particular, how do mental states relate to the brain states studied by neuroscientists? • How do minds represent? • Consciousness? • What is a person? • Do we have a special kind of knowledge about our own minds?

  4. Philosophical Arguments • We will approach our questions from a philosophical perspective. • What is philosophy? • Content: leftovers from other disciplines. • Method: heightened scrutiny of concepts, theses, and arguments.

  5. Arguments • An argument is a set of sentences, some of which are premises, and the rest of which are conclusions. • The premises give us reason to believe that the conclusion is true. • For example: • P1. All Canadian citizens are Commonwealth citizens. • P2. Justin Bieber is a Canadian citizen. Therefore, • C. Justin Beiber is a Commonwealth citizen.

  6. Arguments, cont. • Two ways for an argument to fail: • Containing a false premise For example: • P1. Toronto is the capital of Canada. • P2. The capital of Canada is 104 miles from Montreal. Therefore, • C. Toronto is 104 miles from Montreal. • Making an invalid inference from premises to a conclusion For example: • P1. If Kobe Bryant shoots 10 free throws, the Lakers will win. • P2. The Lakers won. Therefore, • C. Kobe Bryant shot 10 free throws.

  7. dualism

  8. Monism and Physicalism • Monism: There is only one kind of thing. • Two kinds of monism: • Physicalism: Only the entities studied by the physical sciences, or entities composed of such entities, exist. • Example: According to physicalism apples exist: they are composed of plant (eukaryotic) cells, which are studied in biology, which is a physical science. • Example: According to physicalism, God does not exist: God is not composed of physical, chemical, or biological parts.

  9. Quine’s Physicalism • “[N]othinghappens in the world, not the flutter of the eyelid, not the flicker of a thought, without some redistribution of microphysical states…. If the physicist suspected that there was any event that did not consist in the redistribution of the elementary states allowed for in his physical theory, he would seek a way of supplementing his theory. Full coverage in this sense is the very business of physics, and only of physics.” (W. V. O. Quine, Theories and Things)

  10. Monism and Dualism • Idealism: Only minds exist. • “It is indeed an opinion strangely prevailing amongst men, that houses, mountains, rivers, and in a word all sensible objects have an existence natural or real, distinct from their being perceived by the understanding. But with how great an assurance and acquiescence soever this principle may be entertained in the world; yet whoever shall find in his heart to call it in question, may, if I mistake not, perceive it to involve a manifest contradiction. For what are the forementioned objects but the things we perceive by sense, and what do we perceive besides our own ideas or sensations; and is it not plainly repugnant that any one of these or any combination of them should exist unperceived?” (George Berkeley, Principles 4)

  11. Dualism Monism is opposed by • Dualism: There are two distinct kinds of thing, i.e., physical things and minds. • “[I]t is certain that I am really distinct from my body, and can exist without it” (René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy).

  12. Is Folk Psychology Dualist? • Reasons to think it is: • Physical objects seem to have size, shape, and velocity. • Mental states seem to have none of these properties.

  13. Is the Mind Really Distinct from the Brain? • Reasons to think it’s not: • There is a very tight connection between the mind and the brain. • Example: We know that the frontal lobes are crucially involved in personality and social behavior. • The human mind evolved, and evolution is a physical process.

  14. A Criterion of the Mental? • To evaluate dualism, it would be helpful to have a criterion of the mental, i.e.,a trait that is common to all and only mental states. • Intentionality? • A mental state is intentional = it is about something. • Example: Joe’s belief that Machu Pichu is in Peru is intentional because it is about Machu Pichu and Peru. • Problem: sensations don’t seem to be intentional.

  15. A Criterion of the Mental?, cont. • Privileged Access? • We seem to have privileged access to facts about our own minds in the sense that we can know about our own minds in a direct and unique way. • I can know that I have a headache without observing my own behavior or an MRI of my brain. • “Raw feels” • Problem: We don’t always have privileged access to our propositional attitudes.

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