REQUIRED READING
You are required to read the following pages of the text bookand the definitions and examples given on my assigned webpages. The "Helpful Questions" are here to help you understand the reading.and to anticipate the points I will be discussing in class. If you can master this material without following the reading questions, then you don't have to bother with them. However, the additional text I give on these pages is required because at least some of the points it covers will be on the tests.
Remember, you will be tested on this reading before the next lecture. Be ready to answer questions about this material.
Your reading is from Does the Center Hold? by Donald Palmer. Page numbers in blue refer to the 3rd edition, greenish page numbers refer to the 4th edition, and dark blue page numbers refer to the 5th edition.
Read pages 131-135 in 3rd Edition, or pages 132-136 in 4th Edition, or pages 129-133 in 5th Edition
(The number on the left is the page number in the 3rd Edition. For 4th edition, you might have to add a page.)
131. What is "mind-brain
identity theory?"
131. Why does J. J. C. Smart think that sensations are not
left outside the physical picture?
131. Is Smart's thesis about language or
about reality?
133. What is Jerome Shaffer's objection to mind-brain
identity theory?
134. What is the difference between strict correlation and
identity? Explain Mind-Brain Identity Theory and the main
objections to it.
If the book doesn't give you enough to go on, check out Wikipedia on J. J. C. Smart. (Read the section on Philosophy of Mind.)
138. What is a
"function?"
138. According to the functionalist model, what do minds to?
138. According to functionalism, what does it take to have a mind?
139. Why don't we
have to choose between the language of the neurologist and the language of
common sense?
Potential questions for Quiz 1. What is "mind-brain identity theory?" 5. What is Jerome Shaffer's
objection to mind-brain identity theory?
How To Make Up Quizzes
If for some reason, (illness, family emergency, conflicting academic obligation, sudden discovery that you have superpowers coupled with the need to save the Earth from a hurtling asteroid that only you can deflect), you miss one of my delightful quizzes, you can make up the lost points by writing up a clear, precise, and deeply insightful answer to one of the potential exam questions and turning the results in as "make-up quiz." Illustrations are not absolutely necessary, but would add a nice touch.
Potential Exam Questions
33. Explain and discuss
mind-brain identity theory.
What kind of identity is involved in
this theory? What is the basic argument for this theory? Explain Jerome
Shaffer's objection to mind brain identity theory. In your view, how well does
mind brain identity theory stand up to this objection?
34. Explain and discuss functionalism.
How do functionalists conceive of minds? Is functionalism necessarily a
form of materialism? Explain either the Searle or the Descartes objection to
functionalism. In your view, is the objection you chose a valid objection to
functionalism?
Any exam answer can be enhanced by addition of any comments that occur to you. The more you think about a topic, the more likely you are to come up with something that can earn you a little more credit for your answer. I never deduct points, so it can't hurt to add your own thoughts.
