Philosophy 101

Introduction to Philosophy

Spring 2005

Study Guide for Examination #2

See the Study Guide for Examination #1 for instructions on how to Present, Explain, and Evaluation (PEE) an argument. Be sure that you distinguish between presenting a theory and presenting an argument -- see the last Study Guide for details.

0. Be prepared to Extract, Explain, and Evaluate an argument from an unfamiliar text. (See the handout on this topic.)

1. Define the term ‘ontological scheme’. Define the terms ‘exclusive list’ and ‘exhaustive list’. Explain the term ‘natural kind’ (by example). Present the Primitive Ontological Scheme given in class. Give examples of things in each of the categories.

2. State the fundamental questions of philosophy of mind. Explain them by reference to the Primitive Ontological Scheme.

3. For each of the following terms, either present a definition of it (if one was presented in class) or otherwise explain it (by giving examples): ‘physical object’, ‘mind’, ‘physical property’, ‘mental property’, ‘soul’.

4. Define ‘thoroughly physical object’. Present Typical Materialism (TM). How does it answer the fundamental questions of philosophy of mind? Could a person who accepts TM also accept the Primitive Ontological Scheme? Explain.

5. Present Eliminative Materialism and the Identity Theory.

6. Define or otherwise explain the terms ‘astral projection’ and ‘reincarnation’. PEE the Argument from Soul Movement against TM.

7. Define or otherwise explain the terms ‘telepathy’, ‘precognition’, ‘clairvoyance’, and ‘telekinesis’. PEE the Argument from Parapsychology against TM.

8. PEE the First Platonic Argument from Death against TM. (For the exam, you should be sure that you know the difference between this argument and the Second Platonic Argument from Death.)

9. Define ‘x is identical with y’. State Leibniz’s Law and its Corollary. PEE the Second Platonic Argument from Death against TM. In your explanation, be sure to explain clearly how the argument makes use of Leibniz’s Law. Be sure that you mention the property that Socrates (allegedly) has that his body (allegedly) does not. In your evaluation, consider two distinct replies that a Typical Materialist might give, depending on what sort of physical object he thinks Socrates is, that is, whether he thinks that (i) Socrates is identical with Socrates’s body, or (ii) Socrates is identical with a temporal phase (time slice) of Socrates’s body. Be sure to say which premise of the objection is being denied by each reply.

10. State the Evil Demon Hypothesis. Explain the phrase ‘Cogito ergo sum’. PEE Descartes’s Argument from Certainty against TM. In your explanation, be sure to explain carefully why Descartes thinks that he is certain that he exists, and why he thinks that he is not certain that his body exists (your explanation of this last point will need to refer to the Evil Demon Hypothesis). Also, be sure that at some point in your explanation you make use of Leibniz’s Law, and that you state which property Descartes (allegedly) has that his body does not. In your evaluation, present and explain the Amnesiac’s Argument from Certainty. Describe how does this argument helps in an evaluation of Descartes’s argument.

11. For each of the following terms, either present a definition of it (if one was given in class) or otherwise explain it (for instance, by giving examples): ‘substance’, ‘purely physical substance’, ‘purely mental substance’, ‘mixed substance’, ‘essential property’.

12. Present Cartesian Dualism (CD). How does it answer the fundamental questions of philosophy of mind? Explain why a Cartesian Dualist cannot accept the Primitive Ontological Scheme. Present the Revised Ontological Scheme, and explain why it is consistent with CD.

13. Discuss whether CD is consistent with, or entails, (i) the occurrence of astral projection and reincarnation and (ii) survival after the death and dissolution of the body.

14. PEE the Problem of Other Minds for CD. Be sure to explain each line of the argument carefully. In your evaluation, present Descartes’s reply (specify which premise he denies). Evaluate Descartes’s reply. Evaluate other replies to the argument.

15. State a Thesis About Individuating Objects. PEE Armstrong’s Problem of Individuating Non-physical Minds.

16. PEE the “Interaction Is Inconceivable” Argument against CD.

17. Define ‘the physical laws’. Define ‘e violates the physical laws’. PEE the Violations of Physical Law Argument against CD.

18. Present Epiphenomenal Substance Dualism (ESD). Explain why someone might adopt it rather than CD.

19. PEE the “Decisions Cause Actions” Argument against ESD.