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Key Concepts from Philosophy Exam Notes

Argument of Qualia and Physicalism

  • Jackson's Argument: Physicalism fails to account for qualia (subjective experiences).
    • Premise 1: Mary knows all physical facts of color vision in a black and white room.
    • Premise 2: Mary does not know what it is like to see red.
    • Conclusion 1: Not all facts about color vision are physical.
    • Conclusion 2: Physicalism is therefore false.

Sally's Counterargument

  • Structure Similarity: Similar to Jackson's argument.
    • Premise 1: Sally knows that salt dissolves in water.
    • Premise 2: Sally does not know that NaCl dissolves in H2O.
    • Conclusion: Knowledge doesn’t equate to learning new facts about salt.

Papineau’s Argument for Materialism

  • Premise 1: Conscious occurrences have physical effects.
  • Premise 2: All physical effects are caused by physical histories.
  • Premise 3: Conscious causes are not always overdetermined by distinct causes.
  • Conclusion: Materialism is true; conscious states are identical to physical brain states.

Overdetermination Objection

  • Argument: Having both mental and physical causes is unnecessary (e.g. belt and braces).
    • Papineau's Response: Overdetermination is observable in simple tasks; in complex tasks both causes are necessary.

Chinese Room Argument (Searle)

  • Example: Searle cannot understand Chinese, but can follow instructions to respond correctly.
  • Conclusion: This demonstrates that computers (Strong AI) do not truly think or understand, making them Weak AI.

Theories of Personal Identity

  1. Same Brain
    • Definition: (x) is the same as (y) if they have the same brain.
    • Counterexample: Conjoined twins or damaged brain scenarios.
  2. Same Body
    • Definition: (x) is the same as (y) if they have the same body.
    • Counterexample: Conjoined twins at body or multiple personalities.
  3. Same Life Process
    • Definition: Same life process from birth to death indicates the same person.
    • Counterexample: Rebirth or near-death experiences.

Memory Criteria Theories

  1. Memory Criteria #1
    • Definition: (x) is same as (y) if they can remember each other’s experiences.
    • Counterexample: A,B,C scenario where A=C and B=C but A≠B.
  2. Memory Criteria #2
    • Definition: Same as #1 or through a chain of person stages.
    • Counterexample: Riker's duplicate example where two identities share the same memories but are distinct individuals.