Philosophy 22 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Type Physicalism, Embodied Cognition, Chloroform
26 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
1
Philosophy 22: Philosophy of Psychology: Lecture Notes
Lecture 2: Thursday Jan 28th:
Artificial intelligence video clip…. feelings and emotions discussion
REFLECTION QUESTION: Look at each of the premises and conclusions of the knowledge
argument that Graham presents and agree or disagree with each.
Lecture 3: Tuesday Feb 2nd:
The Knowledge Argument
oTwo premises
Prior to release: we assume she is in possession of all physical facts about color
perception
Post release: she acquires a new fact that wasn’t in her possession
oConclusion: There are some non-physical facts (at least one)
More general conclusion: thesis of Physicalism is false
Not easy to define what Physicalism is
Physicalism
oWhat there is, and all there is, is physical
Is this actually true?
Dualist view
Monist view
Say we have objects X and Y
oGather all the physical properties P
oPx = Py does this guarantee all properties of X will be shared by Y? yes
Maybe this is true for chalk, but what about my laptop? yes
What about a human person?
Properties
oDifferences between INTRINSIC and EXTRINSIC properties
Mediating between sensing and activating is COGNITION
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
2
Lecture 4: Thursday Feb 4th:
Reflection due Monday 6 pm (readings in Canvas DUALISM): If you were to be an anti-
physicalist, would you rather defend:
oSubstance dualism OR
oProperty dualism?
oGive your best reasons to prefer one over the other. Pros and Cons of both.
Graham’s dualist argument {P1, P2, P3)
oP1: The mind and the brain are identical (one and the same)
oP2: The mind survives bodily death
oP3: The brain fails to survive bodily death
Cannot hold these premises all together at the same time with the inconsistence
Graham suggests ditching the first premise. How does that change things?
o2 and 3 are able to be a consistent set
Conclusion:
oThe mind and the brain are distinct (not identical)
o(Simplest way of arguing for dualism)
Deepak Chopra: Life After Death
oExamines life after death and makes the point that this is not a matter of belief, it is
contemporary science
oMetaphysical claim: nature of mind and body
oPsychological claim: life after death
Leibniz’s Principle (Identity of Indiscernibles):
oIdentity necessarily implies indistinguishability
o(one and sameness) (all properties shared)
oAt least one property that belongs to X but not Y (property p), then X is not equal to Y
X is the mind
Y is the brain
P is surviving bodily death
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
3
Descartes view:
oMan of grand schemes, tried to say things that encompassed a lot
oTwo categories: Res Extensa (BODY, extended things, hallmark of being physical) and
Res Cogitans (MIND, thinking and cognitive things, non-physical things) with a separate
category of being, God
Everything is either a member of these two categories, the use of these
categories allows for all things to fit in them one way or the other
Both categories are mutually exclusive
How do we account for the interaction between mind and body?
Lecture 5: Feb 9th: Dualism
Next week – read Graham chapter 11, and Churchland Dualism (EPIPHENOMENALISM)
Arguments for and against Dualism
Review of Descartes and his two category view
Lecture 6: Feb 11th:
Concepts
Positions/Arguments
Consequences
Question: Aren’t the things that are happening in our nervous system part of our bodies?
Physically?
oNon-Cartesian position: explain how the kind of bodies we have, give us the kind of
minds we have
oCartesian position: can duplicate bodies all you want but you will never get cognition
Descartes: Interaction
oThings go hand in hand in the mental world and the physical world
Leibniz:
oPre-established harmony (by God, with correlation)
Malebranche:
oOccasionalism
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Artificial intelligence video clip . feelings and emotions discussion. Reflection question: look at each of the premises and conclusions of the knowledge argument that graham presents and agree or disagree with each. Prior to release: we assume she is in possession of all physical facts about color perception. Post release: she acquires a new fact that wasn"t in her possession: conclusion: there are some non-physical facts (at least one) More general conclusion: thesis of physicalism is false. Not easy to define what physicalism is. Physicalism: what there is, and all there is, is physical. Say we have objects x and y: gather all the physical properties p, px = py does this guarantee all properties of x will be shared by y? yes. Maybe this is true for chalk, but what about my laptop? yes. Properties: differences between intrinsic and extrinsic properties. Mediating between sensing and activating is cognition.
