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Philosophy Exam 2 Questions And Answers Latest Updated
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Philosophy Exam 2 Questions And Answers Latest Updated
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Philosophy Exam 2 Questions And AnswersLatest Updated
What is the puzzle of Theseus's Ship?
There is a wooden ship. Over time, arguably unimportant parts are replaced. Eventually the entire ship
has been replaced without a single original piece. You kept every old piece and construct a ship out of
them. Are these two ships identical to one another? Both could be referred to as the original ship but
they are not numerically identically because the ship is only one ship, not two.
Small changes don't matter: an object cannot be numerically different when a small part is replaced
Same parts/Configuration/object: all old parts are kept to then rebuild the ship, does S1=S2 then?
Explain the difference between the bodily continuity view of personal identity and the psychological
continuity view. Star Trek transporter example.
Bodily continuity: if it is the same body with the same brain then it it is the same person
Psychological continuity: if the person has the same memories and same personality then there would
have been a continuous "mental flow"
Star Trek: Someone believing in the body theory would say that a person dies after going through the
transporter since their body is technically destroyed. A person for the Mind theory, however, would say
that since the person's mind is still the same, they would still be the same person and would not die.
Recount Sider's justice argument for the psychological continuity view. Are you persuaded by the
arugment?
Sider's argument refers to the prince and the commoner dillema. The prince has completed a crime one
night. Over night the prince swaps bodies with a commoner, therefore waking up in the body of the
commoner and the commoner in the life of the prince. Who should be punished? Sider says that in the
view of psychological continuity, it would be wrong to punish the person in the prince's bed. This must
then mean that that person is not the prince. Therefore, bodily continuity is false and psychological is
true.
While this could not logically happen in today's world, i am persuaded by his argument. I think it greatly
relates to the soul argument.
What is the fission puzzle about personal identity?
2024
, if this person split into two, who identifies as the original person? would only one half identify? These
options are both arbitrary. would both? or are neither halves the original person?
Explain Gertler's version of the disembodiment argument for the claim that some psychological states
are not identical to any physical state of the brain
Gertler's argument aims to falsify the identity theory which states that mental states are ordinary
physiological states of the nervous system. He argues that it we can conceive of feeling pain with
disembodied and if we can conceive something, then it is possible. therefore it is possible to feel pain
while disembodied. this cannot be true if the identity theory is true, therefore the identity theory is
false.
If pain was a physical state, then it would not exist in immaterial being, meaning that pain cannot be a
physical state.
Explain the casual exclusion argument for the thesis that we are purely physical beings.
Any physical effect must have physical cause, since our actions are physical, they must have physical
causes. Actions are not overdetermined therefore our actions don't have non-physical causes. even non-
physical mind actions have physical causes therefore dualism is false
dualism: mental states are non-physical states of a non-physical consciousness/soul.
Explain the multiple realizability argument against the identity theory.
IT: mental states are ordinary physiological states of the nervous system
the same mental property can be realized by different physical properties i.e. a human feeling pain and a
dog feeling pain. The brain states in the different organisms may be different but the mental state is the
same.
Explain the Chinese Room argument against the functionalist view that mental states are functional
states.
functionalism would believe that to understand Chinese is to function as if you do. The argument
however, states that since in the example, the guy functions as if he knows chinese but does not actually
know chinese, functionalism has to be false.
What is Olson's notion of radical resurrection? Why does he think that it is impossible?
Uses the example of the Colossus. Even if we had every single atom that made it up, and we then
constructed it, it would still not be the Colossus. He believes that we can draw from this example then
that the same goes for a cremated person.
2024
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