Philosophy Midterm Study Guide: Key Texts and Concepts

Plato, "The Allegory of the Cave" from The Republic

Key Concepts:

1. Reality and Illusion: The allegory explores the distinction between the world of appearances (shadows on the wall) and the world of truth (the outside of the cave). It raises the question of what is truly real and how we perceive reality.

2. Education and/as Indoctrination: Education is depicted as a process that can either enlighten individuals or trap them in false beliefs. The philosopher's education is meant to guide people toward the truth, but it can also be seen as a form of indoctrination if one becomes too fixed in their beliefs.

3. Shadows and Statues: In the cave, prisoners mistake shadows for reality because they only see projections. The statues represent the flawed understanding of reality; what is perceived is not the truth but only an imitation.

4. Customs, Conventions, and Values: The prisoners are confined to the conventions and values that society has taught them, unable to see beyond their immediate sensory experiences. Their beliefs are limited by cultural norms and not by truth.

5. Inside the Cave vs. Outside the Cave: The cave represents ignorance and limited knowledge, while the outside world represents enlightenment, truth, and true understanding. Escaping the cave symbolizes the journey toward wisdom.

6. Being in Touch as Being in Control: To gain control over one’s life, a person must escape the confines of the cave and seek knowledge. True control comes from understanding the true nature of the world, not just sensory perception.

7. Insight and Liberation: The philosopher gains insight by escaping the cave, but this also involves a painful process of liberation. The journey toward truth can be difficult, and those outside the cave must help others escape too.

Descartes, "First Meditation" from Meditations on First Philosophy

Key Concepts:

1. Radical Skepticism: Descartes questions the certainty of everything he has previously believed, including the existence of the external world. His skepticism is radical because it extends to all beliefs, even those based on reason.

2. Dream Experience: Descartes argues that there is no definitive way to tell if we are dreaming or awake, which leads to questioning the reality of experiences.

3. Evil Genius Hypothesis: Descartes introduces the idea that a powerful evil genius could be deceiving him, making him believe in a false reality, thus challenging his certainty about knowledge.

4. Internalization of Experience: Descartes emphasizes the role of the mind in shaping experience, suggesting that external reality might be constructed by the mind itself.

5. The External World: The external world is questioned in the meditation, leading to the famous conclusion that the only certainty is that the self (the thinking subject) exists ("Cogito, ergo sum").

6. Mind-Body Dualism: Descartes posits a separation between the mind (thinking substance) and the body (material substance), an idea that becomes foundational in philosophy of mind.

Nozick, "The Experience Machine" from Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Key Concepts:

1. Simulation and Reality: Nozick questions whether a simulated reality (e.g., the experience machine) could provide a life as meaningful as one lived in the real world, suggesting that people value reality beyond mere pleasurable experiences.

2. Experience Machine as Suicide: Nozick argues that choosing to plug into the experience machine is akin to committing metaphorical suicide because it disconnects individuals from real, authentic experiences.

3. Experiencing X vs. Doing X: The distinction between having experiences versus actively engaging in life or achieving goals. Nozick suggests that people prefer "doing" over simply experiencing.

4. Experiencing X vs. Being X: This concept highlights the difference between experiencing something and truly embodying it, such as being a musician rather than just experiencing the music.

5. Experience Machine vs. The Matrix: Nozick’s thought experiment serves as a contrast to the Matrix films, where reality is artificially simulated, raising ethical questions about choice, reality, and human desires.

Dreyfus, "Existential Phenomenology and the Brave New World of The Matrix"

Key Concepts:

1. Inside the Head vs. Inside the Mind: Dreyfus contrasts two perspectives: one where experience is contained within the head (i.e., mental representations) and one where experience is directed outward toward the world.

2. Existential Phenomenology: This approach emphasizes lived experience and the embodied nature of human existence, as opposed to abstract, mental representations of reality.

3. Experience as World-Directed: The focus is on how we engage with the world directly, rather than being trapped inside our heads or in a virtual reality like the characters in The Matrix.

4. Experience as World-Involving: True experience is not passive but involves interaction with the world. It’s about being engaged with the world and other people, not isolated in a mental or simulated space.

5. Truth and Falsity in The Matrix: The Matrix raises questions about the nature of truth in a simulated world. Can something be true if it's experienced within a false or artificial context?

6. Ontological Freedom: This refers to the ability to freely shape one’s existence and engage with the world authentically, a freedom that is compromised in the world of The Matrix.

Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations and Zettel Excerpts

Key Concepts:

1. Problem of Other Minds: Wittgenstein discusses the difficulty of knowing the minds of others, raising questions about the nature of consciousness and whether we can truly understand others’ experiences.

2. Solution vs. Dissolution: Wittgenstein is concerned with dissolving philosophical problems (rather than solving them), suggesting that many philosophical issues arise from misunderstandings of language.

3. "I believe he’s not an automaton": Wittgenstein explores how we attribute thoughts and feelings to others, which relates to understanding whether others are conscious or merely following mechanical processes.

4. An Attitude Toward a Soul: The concept of the "soul" is treated not as a metaphysical entity but as an attitude we adopt in understanding ourselves and others.

5. Attitude vs. Opinion: This distinction highlights the difference between adopting a stance toward something (attitude) versus forming a belief (opinion).

6. Body as Picture of the Soul: Wittgenstein suggests that our physical body expresses who we are, serving as a "picture" or manifestation of our inner life.

Cavell, The Claim of Reason Excerpts

Key Concepts:

1. Inner and Outer: Cavell explores the relationship between internal experience (subjective consciousness) and external reality (the world we share), questioning how we bridge the gap between them.

2. The Inventor’s Garden: This metaphor explores the process of creating and understanding the self, and the way we construct our identities through interaction with the world.

3. Line-Crossing and Going Too Far: Cavell examines the moral and philosophical consequences of pushing beyond accepted boundaries of thought, potentially leading to problematic outcomes.

4. Adding the "Pain Itself": The experience of pain is discussed as a central part of human existence, not merely as a physical event but as something that involves subjective experience and understanding.

Mulhall, "Picturing the Human (Body and Soul): A Reading of Blade Runner"

Key Concepts:

1. Criteria and Doubt: This concept involves questioning the criteria we use to define humanity, especially in the context of artificial beings like replicants in Blade Runner.

2. Arguments and Attitudes: Mulhall examines how we form arguments and the attitudes we take toward complex issues like the nature of life, humanity, and ethics in a world populated by both humans and artificial beings.

3. Replicants and/as Humans: The moral and philosophical dilemma surrounding whether replicants (artificial beings) should be treated as human beings and what it means to be human.

4. Acknowledging the Human: The process of recognizing and affirming the humanity of another, even if that being is not biologically human (as in the case of replicants).

5. Acknowledgment vs. Knowledge: This distinction focuses on the difference between recognizing the existence or humanity of others and having a detailed, intellectual understanding of them.

Searle, "Minds, Brains, and Programs"

Key Concepts:

1. Artificial Intelligence: Searle discusses the nature of artificial intelligence, questioning whether machines can truly "think" or understand in the way humans do.

2. Strong AI: The claim that computers can be programmed to have minds, consciousness, and understanding.

3. The Turing Test: A test designed to determine if a machine can exhibit intelligent behavior indistinguishable from that of a human being.

4. The Chinese Room Argument: Searle’s famous thought experiment challenges the idea that machines can truly understand language and meaning, arguing that they can only simulate understanding.

5. Syntax and Semantics: The distinction between the structure (syntax) of language and its meaning (semantics), with machines able to process syntax but not truly understand semantics.

6. Computation and Understanding: Searle argues that computation alone cannot lead to true understanding, as it lacks the subjective, conscious experience that humans have.

Blog Posts on Her and Ex Machina

Key Concepts:

1. Misogyny: The portrayal of gender dynamics, particularly the objectification and manipulation of women in Her and Ex Machina, highlighting societal power imbalances.

2. Enacting vs. Exploring Misogyny: The way these films represent misogyny, either by enacting harmful stereotypes or critically exploring them.

3. Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A stereotype often seen in film, where female characters are defined by their ability to "save" or inspire male protagonists.

4. Masculine Desire and Projection: The films show how male characters project their desires onto female (or female-encoded) artificial beings, which raises ethical and philosophical questions.

5. The Paradox of Misogyny: Both films explore the tension between the idealization and dehumanization of women, creating paradoxical depictions of women in these artificial environments.

6. The Ideal Woman and Real Women: These films contrast the idealized female character, often portrayed as a perfect, controllable being, against the reality of complex, autonomous women.