PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Epiphenomenalism is the view that mental events:
- Cause physical events in the brain
- Are caused by physical events but have no causal power themselves (Correct answer)
- Are identical to physical events
- Exist independently of physical events
Correct answer: Are caused by physical events but have no causal power themselves
Epiphenomenalism holds that mental states are by-products of brain activity with no causal influence on behavior—they are effects, never causes.
Question 2: John Searle's Chinese Room argument is a critique of:
- Substance dualism
- Strong artificial intelligence (strong AI) (Correct answer)
- Eliminative materialism
- Property dualism
Correct answer: Strong artificial intelligence (strong AI)
Searle argues that symbol manipulation following rules (as a computer does) is insufficient for genuine understanding or intentionality, undermining strong AI claims.
Question 3: Eliminative materialism, defended by Paul and Patricia Churchland, claims that:
- Folk psychology terms like 'belief' and 'desire' will be replaced by neuroscientific terms (Correct answer)
- The mind can exist without the brain
- Consciousness is an illusion created by cultural conditioning
- Mental states are real but non-physical
Correct answer: Folk psychology terms like 'belief' and 'desire' will be replaced by neuroscientific terms
Eliminativists argue that commonsense mental categories are a radically false theory that mature neuroscience will eventually eliminate and replace.
Question 4: Property dualism holds that while there is only one substance (the physical), it has two kinds of properties:
- Primary and secondary qualities
- Physical and mental (phenomenal) properties (Correct answer)
- Necessary and contingent properties
- Essential and accidental properties
Correct answer: Physical and mental (phenomenal) properties
Property dualists accept physicalism about substance but argue that mental properties are irreducible to physical properties.
Question 5: Which term refers to the qualitative, subjective 'feel' of experience, such as the redness of red or the painfulness of pain?
- Intentionality
- Qualia (Correct answer)
- Propositional attitudes
- Phenomenal concepts
Correct answer: Qualia
Qualia are the intrinsic, subjective qualities of conscious experience that physicalists struggle to explain in purely objective terms.
Question 6: Intentionality, in philosophy of mind, refers to the property of mental states whereby they:
- Are caused by external stimuli
- Are directed at or about objects and states of affairs (Correct answer)
- Produce behavior in organisms
- Are stored in long-term memory
Correct answer: Are directed at or about objects and states of affairs
Intentionality (aboutness) is the capacity of mental states like beliefs, desires, and perceptions to represent or be directed toward objects.
PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness 2
Epiphenomenalism is the view that mental events: