Philosophy of Mind and Personal Identity Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering topics in personal identity, ethics, philosophy of mind, and psychoanalytic theory from the lecture notes.

Persistence of Identity

Refers to something remaining the same despite its original parts being replaced or erased over time.

Plutarch

A Greek historian who analogized personal identity through the Tale of Theseus and his timeless voyage commemorated by Athens.

The Tale of Theseus

A story about Theseus' heroism against the Minotaur, where he slayed the monster and victoriously sailed back to Athens.

Theseus

The founder king of Athens who slayed the Minotaur at Crete.

Minotaur

A mythical creature in the shape of a bull and a man.

Theseus' Ship

A vessel honored by Athenians through annual voyage reenactments for 1000 years, whose gradual repair and part replacement sparked Plutarch's philosophical paradox.

Numerically Identical

A relationship of identity represented by the formula $a = b$.

Qualitatively Identical

A relationship of identity represented by the formula $a \neq b$.

Body Theory

The view that personal identity persists over time because an individual remains in the same physical body from birth to death.

Bernard Williams

The philosopher who proposed the "mad scientist" body swap thought experiment, demonstrating that primitive fears are tied to physical bodies.

Memory Theory

A theory founded by John Locke asserting that consciousness and the retention of collective memories (chain of memory) form the basis of personal identity.

John Locke

The philosopher who founded Memory Theory, arguing that personal identity requires active memory retention.

Hypothetical Imperatives

Commands that should be followed if one desires a specific outcome, prioritizing prudence over morality.

Categorical Imperatives

Moral obligations derived from pure reason that one must follow regardless of desire.

Universalizability Principle

Kant's formulation: "Act only according to that maxim which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction."

Maxim

A rule or underlying principle of action.

Universal Law

An imperative rule or action that must always be applied in similar situations.

The Formula of Humanity

Kant's principle to act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end and never as a mere means.

Ends-in-ourselves

A principle that recognizes human autonomy and individual intrinsic worth.

Reductive Physicalism

The philosophical view that physical brain states directly determine personality and mood.

Substance Dualism

The position that minds are separate non-physical substances that cannot be reduced to physical brain matter.

Interactionism

The position that the mind and body are distinct but connected, directly influencing each other.

Mind-Body Problem

The philosophical question examining the relationship between physical body processes and mental thought/consciousness.

Frank Jackson

Contemporary Australian philosopher who created the "What Mary Didn't Know" thought experiment.

Qualia

Subjective, first-person subjective experience that cannot be fully captured by quantitative facts or physical studies.

Begging the Question

A philosophical fallacy where an argument assumes the truth of a conclusion that is yet to be proven.

Epiperumenalism

The view that physical states give rise to mental states, but mental states do not influence physical states.

Mysterianism

The view, associated with Colin McGinn, that human consciousness is inherently unfathomable to human minds.

Colin McGinn

Contemporary British philosopher known for advocating Mysterianism regarding consciousness.

David Hume

Skeptic philosopher who maintained that there is no persistent self or immortal soul, proposing the Bundle Theory of Self.

Bundle Theory of Self

David Hume's theory that memories and experiences consist of a bundle of impressions and ideas without a unified, constant identity.

Impressions

According to David Hume, direct sensory experiences and immediate perceptions.

Ideas

According to David Hume, mental concepts and imaginations that lack direct physical equivalence or sensory experience.

Transcendent Self

Kant's concept of active mental engagement constructing knowledge from experience, unifying sensory input for higher purposes.

Empirical Self (ego)

Kant's concept of the individual persona composed of specific unique traits, acting as a free moral agent capable of rational decision-making.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud's psychological framework explaining human behavior, personality, and mental disorders through a multitiered view of the unconscious mind.

Freud's Model of the Mind

Sigmund Freud's structural model of personality and consciousness, depicting the interaction between Conscious, Preconscious, and Unconscious regions along with the Ego, Superego, and Id.

Ego

In Freud's model, the executive mediator operating on the reality principle to balance internal desires and external rules.

Superego

In Freud's model, the component representing internalized moral principles and ideals.

Id

In Freud's model, the unconscious psychic energy driven by the pleasure principle.

Conscious Mind

The region of the mind in Freud's framework containing thoughts and perceptions within present awareness.

Pre-Conscious Mind

The region of the mind in Freud's framework containing information outside immediate awareness that remains accessible.

Unconscious Mind

The inaccessible region of the mind in Freud's framework containing hidden impulses, observable indirectly through dreams and neuroses.

Gilbert Ryle

Philosopher who opposed Freudian dualism, arguing that behavior mirrors mental processes and the mind is part of the body.

Lebenswelt

The "lived world" term used by Husserl and Merleau-Ponty to describe the natural synthesis of physical body experiences and conscious interpretation.