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Stephen Lumsden B1 15.1.18
Stephen Lumsden, essay for Units 1-3, Program B: Philosophy Of Mind (Essay for Question 5. What is the philosophical significance of the idea of disembodiment and/or the idea of a ‘zombie’?) What is the philosophical significance of the idea of the idea of a ‘zombie In this essay I will briefly summarise the origin of the idea of philosophical zombies and explain what they are. Arguments for their relevance in philosophical enquiry will be then made in order to gauge whether they are a useful tool to use. The idea of a philosophical zombie is a fully functioning person who exists without any inner life or consciousness. This was first put forward by David Chalmers a form of thought experiment and goes as follows: P1: I can consistently conceive of a beings that are physically identical with us, yet have no conscious experience. P2: Conceivability implies possibility C: Therefore we are not purely physical beings In accepting the conceivability of the argument this implies possibility and therefore zombies are possible. In turn the possibility of the zombies will counter the physicalist view that consciousness can be solely defined in functional terms. In turn this can be seen as a victory for supporters of Cartesian Dualism (the idea that the mind is a separate immaterial entity which exists independently of the physical body, as outlined by Descartes in his Meditations on First Philosophy). This argument raises questions in relation to two areas in the philosophy of mind, namely that of Dualism vs physicalism and the problem of other minds. -
Russellian Panpsychism: Do We Need It and Is It Enough?
Russellian Panpsychism: Do We Need It and Is It Enough? By Damian Aleksiev Submitted to Central European University Department of Philosophy In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy Supervisor: Philip Goff CEU eTD Collection May 2016 Abstract The main aim of this thesis is to clarify the ontological status of phenomenal experience. In order to do this, I first examine how pure physicalism explains phenomenality. Pure physicalism relies on the structural and causal vocabulary of physics, and is compatible with the causal closure of the physical. Nonetheless, I argue that pure physicalism is false since it cannot account for our intuitive understating of phenomenal experience as something beyond-structural. I supplement these intuitions, first with the knowledge and conceivability arguments, and second with my own argument for the transparency of phenomenal concepts called the argument from solipsism. Then, I investigate Russellian panpsychism as a promising alternative to pure physicalism that attempts to solve its problems without any drawbacks. Russellian panpsychism places phenomenal experience at the fundamental ontological level, and at the same time remains compatible with the causal closure of the physical. Finally, I argue against Russellian panpsychism based on the combination problem, as well as my own: reverse conceivability argument, and combination problem for value. The conclusion of this enquiry is that neither pure physicalism nor Russellian panpsychism can provide a satisfactory account of phenomenal experience. CEU eTD Collection I Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Philip Goff for his continual support and willingness to discuss my ideas during the entire academic year. -
An Introduction to Philosophy
An Introduction to Philosophy W. Russ Payne Bellevue College Copyright (cc by nc 4.0) 2015 W. Russ Payne Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document with attribution under the terms of Creative Commons: Attribution Noncommercial 4.0 International or any later version of this license. A copy of the license is found at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 1 Contents Introduction ………………………………………………. 3 Chapter 1: What Philosophy Is ………………………….. 5 Chapter 2: How to do Philosophy ………………….……. 11 Chapter 3: Ancient Philosophy ………………….………. 23 Chapter 4: Rationalism ………….………………….……. 38 Chapter 5: Empiricism …………………………………… 50 Chapter 6: Philosophy of Science ………………….…..… 58 Chapter 7: Philosophy of Mind …………………….……. 72 Chapter 8: Love and Happiness …………………….……. 79 Chapter 9: Meta Ethics …………………………………… 94 Chapter 10: Right Action ……………………...…………. 108 Chapter 11: Social Justice …………………………...…… 120 2 Introduction The goal of this text is to present philosophy to newcomers as a living discipline with historical roots. While a few early chapters are historically organized, my goal in the historical chapters is to trace a developmental progression of thought that introduces basic philosophical methods and frames issues that remain relevant today. Later chapters are topically organized. These include philosophy of science and philosophy of mind, areas where philosophy has shown dramatic recent progress. This text concludes with four chapters on ethics, broadly construed. I cover traditional theories of right action in the third of these. Students are first invited first to think about what is good for themselves and their relationships in a chapter of love and happiness. Next a few meta-ethical issues are considered; namely, whether they are moral truths and if so what makes them so. -
The Knowledge and Zombie Arguments
Thought Experiments in Philosophy 5 1. The Knowledge Argument Against Physicalism (1) If physicalism is true, then to know all the physical facts in domain D is to know all facts in D. “A complete account of what our world is like can in principle be told in terms of a relatively small set of favoured particulars, properties, and relations—the ‘physical’ ones. The world is entirely physical in nature; it is nothing but, or nothing over and above, the physical world. A full inven- tory of the instantiated physical properties and relations would be a full inventory simpliciter.”1 “Any world which is a minimal physical duplicate of our world is a dupli- cate simpliciter of our world.” “Every mental fact is entailed by the physical facts, i.e. by how the physical (or micro-physical) world is.” (2) It is possible to know all physical facts in D without knowing all facts in D: Mary the colour scientist. (3) Therefore, physicalism is false. 2. The Conceivability Argument Against Physicalism This argument concludes from the possibility of a creature that lacks subjective pheno- menal experience to the falsity of physicalism. Preliminaries (1) In our world, there are conscious experiences (mental realism). (2) A (philosophical) zombie is a creature that is a molecule for molecule duplicate of me, but it lacks subjective conscious experience completely. (3) Zombies are conceivable. (4) If zombies are conceivable, then zombies are metaphysically (absolutely) possible. (5) Therefore, zombies are metaphysically (absolutely) possible. (from 3 and 4) First way to complete the argument (6) If physicalism is true, then a physical duplicate of our world is a complete duplicate (a duplicate simpliciter). -
ABSTRACT the Zombie Argument and Its Implications for Naturalism
ABSTRACT The Zombie Argument and Its Implications for Naturalism Autumn S. Averitt Director: Todd Buras, Ph.D. In the discipline of philosophy today, the nature of consciousness is an extremely popular topic. Additionally, there is a general consensus on the truth of naturalism. This thesis investigates whether a naturalist conception of consciousness is tenable. The zombie argument against the naturalist program is very striking, as it clearly delineates the apparent differences between the phenomenal and psychological concepts of the mind. This thesis explores the naturalist program and the nature of consciousness. It then outlines the zombie argument and evaluates naturalist responses to the argument. It concludes that the strongest naturalist response still falls short of defeating the zombie argument. Naturalism therefore fails to adequately account for consciousness. APPROVED BY DIRECTOR OF HONORS THESIS: ________________________________________________ Dr. Todd Buras, Department of Philosophy APPROVED BY THE HONORS PROGRAM: ________________________________________________ Dr. Andrew Wisely, Director DATE: ________________________ THE ZOMBIE ARGUMENT AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR NATURALISM A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Baylor University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Honors Program By Autumn S. Averitt Waco, TX May 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Naturalism and Its Constraints . 1 Chapter Two: The Phenomenon of Consciousness . 19 Chapter Three: The Zombie Argument . 28 Chapter Four: Naturalist Responses to the Zombie Argument . 45 Bibliography . 60 ii CHAPTER ONE Naturalism and its Constraints Introduction Within philosophy, discussion of the mind is dynamic and growing. Neuroscience is advancing rapidly, and discovering many new neural pathways, neurotransmitters, etc. These physical components of the brain seem readily investigable. -
Ableism and Futuristic Technology: the Enhancement of 'No Body' In
TRANSMISSIONS: THE JOURNAL OF FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES 2016, VOL.1, NO. 1, PP. 82-98 nili R. Broyer University of Illinois at Chicago Ableism and Futuristic Technology: The Enhancement of ‘No Body’ in the Films Lucy and Her1 Abstract: Implementing a disability studies and cultural studies framework, this paper offers a critical analysis of the two popular science fiction films: Lucy (Besson, 2014) and Her (Jonze, 2013). In both films, Scarlett Johansson plays the leading female character. In Lucy, the protagonist is a human being who experiences radical transformation due to an overdose of a new kind of drug, while in Her, Samantha is an operating system designed to evolve. Despite their clear differences, Lucy and Samantha share a similar destiny. Eventually, both of these figures develop into a super-able consciousness that continues to evolve beyond the restrictions of the physical world. I argue that the two films reflect what Gregor Wolbring termed as “the transhumanized version of ableism”. Transhumanism is a contemporary social movement that calls for a future in which biological boundaries are overcome. From a transhumanist perspective, all human bodies—impaired or able-bodied alike—are inferior, deficient and ultimately disabled. As such, they all need to be ‘cured.’ Thus, the transhumanist solution becomes not the enhancement of the body, but rather the creation of an independent enhanced mind. Lucy’s and Her’s representations of an advanced mind with no body are aligned with this futuristic aspiration. Both offer the viewers a first glance at a potential future in which technology enables consciousness to prosper without a body. -
Philosophical Zombies and the Problem of Consciousness Peter Coxhead
Philosophical zombies and the problem of consciousness Peter Coxhead Conceivability and explanations The general argument on which this lecture is based is the following: Suppose we can conceive of some state of the world which does not actually exist. Then and only then we are entitled to ask for an explanation of why this state does not exist or what causes the difference between the state we have conceived and the corresponding state which does exist. “Conceive of” – here meaning more or less the same as “imagine” – needs to be considered more carefully than I can do in this lecture. Can I conceive of a square circle drawn on a flat piece of paper? No. Why not? Because nothing, real or imaginary, can be described as such a square circle. The meaning of “square” and “circle” are incompatible in this context. It’s not that I don’t have the ingenuity to conceive of such a thing or lack imagination; it’s that what- ever I conceive of or imagine cannot be correctly described as a square circle. So it’s simply foolish to ask for an explanation of why there are no square circles (drawn on flat paper).1 Can I conceive of the Earth in an orbit outside the ‘habitable zone’? Yes. There’s nothing linguistically or logically inconsistent about this conception. Hence I can sensibly ask why the Earth has an orbit within the habitable zone. Nothing guarantees that the answer can be obtained with our current state of knowledge or that if obtained it will be of any great interest or value. -
Marcela Cañete Cover
English Studies in Latin America Frankenstein’s Monster and the Qualitative Experience Author: Marcela Cañete Vera Source: White Rabbit: English Studies in Latin America, No. 4 (December 2012) ISSN: 0719-0921 Published by: Facultad de Letras, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. Your use of this work indicates your acceptance of these terms. White Rabbit: English Studies in Latin America Issue 4 (December 2012) ISSN: 0719-0921 Frankenstein’s Monster and the Qualitative Experience Marcela Cañete Vera1 The most fascinating topic treated in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, is human nature and consciousness in non human beings. The novel’s character Viktor Frankenstein plays the role of the inventor of a being brought to life only by artificial means. This creature, though possessing the same physiological characteristics as human beings, has no conscience due to its non human, artificial precedence. However, he is constantly giving signs that he could be regarded as a conscious being, principally because of his use of language throughout the novel that expresses he is actually experiencing qualia. The present research paper will attempt to question the possibility of the existence of qualia phenomena in non human entities, based on the example of Frankenstein’s creature. The representation of Viktor Frankenstein’s creature in the novel as a subject with qualitative experience raises the question of whether he is conscious or rather an imitator of qualia, thus a philosophical zombie. -
Mind a Brief Introduction 1St Edition Ebook Free Download
MIND A BRIEF INTRODUCTION 1ST EDITION PDF, EPUB, EBOOK John R Searle | 9780195157345 | | | | | Mind A Brief Introduction 1st edition PDF Book I'm still being introduced to this world of academia. These replies address Searle's concerns about intentionality , symbol grounding and syntax vs. The mind, being a part of our world, must therefore also be entirely be explainable in these physical terms. The high rating may seem out of order when you compare this with some of the other texts with four star ratings on my Philosophy shelf. Perhaps that goes to far, but I really can't stand reading opinionated pieces that have the inclination to hide opinion as fact. Teaching Area. Berkeley, G. Davidson, D. Kurzweil is concerned primarily with the amount of intelligence displayed by the machine, whereas Searle's argument sets no limit on this. Conditions of Satisfaction. The Chinese room argument is a central concept in Peter Watts 's novels Blindsight and to a lesser extent Echopraxia. Some of the most famous idealists were Berkeley, Hegel, Bradley, and Royce. Is this man a new person? Putnam, P. Authority control GND : Knowledge reasoning Planning Machine learning Natural language processing Computer vision Robotics Artificial general intelligence. June 15, The Chinese Room is also the name of a British independent video game development studio best known for working on experimental first-person games, such as Everybody's Gone to the Rapture , or Dear Esther. Given the traditional categories, it is not easy to see how they could be consistent; for materialism so stated seems to imply that there cannot be any irreducible nonphysical phenomena; and dualism so stated seems to imply that there must, in addition to material phenomena, be irreducible nonphysi-cal mental phenomena. -
The Zombie Threat to a Science of Mind with Pics
The Zombie Threat to a Science of Mind 14 JUN (Published in May/June edition of ‘Philosophy Now’) For the last five hundred years or so, physics has been doing extraordinarily well. More and more of our world has been captured in its explanatory net, from the formation of planets and stars, to the nature of space and time, to the very basic constituents of matter that make us up. There’s a long way to go: our best theory of the very big, i.e. general relativity, is inconsistent with our best theory of the very small, i.e. quantum mechanics. But many look forward to the day when physicists will resolve these niggling issues, and will present the public with the holy grail of science: the Grand Unified Theory of Everything. The hope of many philosophical inclined scientists and scientifically enthused philosophers is that this theory will explain the existence and nature of everything there is. Let us call this kind of view ‘physicalism.’ Physicalism is a grand and ambitious project, but there is a thorn in its side: consciousness. The qualities each of us encounters in our inner conscious experience – the feeling of pain, the sensation of biting into a lemon, what it’s like to see red – stubbornly refuse to be incorporated into the physicalist’s all-encompassing vision of the universe. Consciousness seems to be the one bit of left-over magic that refuses to be naturalised. And it’s all the fault of the zombies. I’m not talking about Hollywood zombies, the lumbering, semi-decayed, undead creatures that the rest of this edition is taken up with. -
Religion, Science, and the Conscious Self: Bio-Psychological Explanation and the Debate Between Dualism and Naturalism
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2011 Religion, Science, and the Conscious Self: Bio-Psychological Explanation and the Debate Between Dualism and Naturalism Paul J. Voelker Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Voelker, Paul J., "Religion, Science, and the Conscious Self: Bio-Psychological Explanation and the Debate Between Dualism and Naturalism" (2011). Dissertations. 242. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/242 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2011 Paul J. Voelker LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO RELIGION, SCIENCE, AND THE CONSCIOUS SELF: BIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLANATION AND THE DEBATE BETWEEN DUALISM AND NATURALISM A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN THEOLOGY BY PAUL J. VOELKER CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAY 2011 Copyright by Paul J. Voelker, 2011 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people helped to make this dissertation project a concrete reality. First, and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. John McCarthy. John’s breadth and depth of knowledge made for years of stimulating, challenging conversation, and I am grateful for his constant support. Dr. Michael Schuck also provided for much good conversation during my time at Loyola, and I am grateful to Mike for taking time from a hectic schedule to serve on my dissertation committee. -
Blind Sight Pdf, Epub, Ebook
BLIND SIGHT PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Carol O'Connell | 432 pages | 20 Sep 2016 | Headline Publishing Group | 9781472237866 | English | London, United Kingdom Blind Sight PDF Book The Kurzweil Institute, like everyone else, suddenly had other things to worry about. Hopefully none of us would be getting reacquainted any time soon. You know, there isn't a single baseline human who could just tell you, just off the top of their heads, every prime number between one and a billion? You can feel your blood, syrupy with dobutamine and leuenkephalin, forcing its way through arteries shriveled by months on standby. You couldn't get it from interactive shadows. Then I opened wide; experience flooded up my inlays and spilled across my parietal cortex in glorious high-density fast forward. Maybe it was a predator thing. This information moves through an area of the brain called the lateral geniculate nucleus , located in the thalamus , and on to be processed in the primary visual cortex, area V1 also known as the striate cortex because of its striped appearance. More likely it was just filtering the pallor of the skin beneath. So, I'm going to revert to my usual fallback position of "random typing to see what words show up" and call it a review. Wise Man. The big picture, when it comes to this book at least, is that it is incredibly ambitious, quite clever, but also somewhat boring and unpalatable. We have such need of intellects greater than our own. By pointing out the drawbacks and limitations of consciousness, Watts forces us ask ourselves, "what IS consciousness good for? But we can't wait for them to report back.