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.