PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness

Question 1

The 'hard problem of consciousness,' coined by David Chalmers, refers to the difficulty of explaining:

Accepted Answer

Why we have subjective experience (qualia) at all

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How the brain processes sensory input

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How memory is encoded neurologically

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The evolutionary origin of self-awareness

Question 2

Substance dualism, associated with Descartes, holds that mind and body are:

Accepted Answer

Two entirely distinct substances

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Different aspects of a single substance

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Identical physical systems

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Emergent properties of the brain

Question 3

Which position holds that mental states are entirely identical to physical brain states?

Accepted Answer

Mind-body identity theory

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Property dualism

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Epiphenomenalism

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Idealism

Question 4

Functionalism in philosophy of mind defines mental states by their:

Accepted Answer

Causal/functional role relating inputs, outputs, and other mental states

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Physical substrate

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Phenomenal qualities

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Genetic origins

Question 5

Thomas Nagel's famous paper 'What Is It Like to Be a Bat?' argues that physicalist accounts of mind fail to capture:

Accepted Answer

The subjective, first-person character of experience

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The evolutionary basis of consciousness

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The neural correlates of perception

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The behavioral outputs of organisms

Question 6

The philosophical zombie (p-zombie) thought experiment, used against physicalism, imagines a being that:

Accepted Answer

Is physically identical to a human but has no subjective experience

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Has consciousness but no physical body

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Behaves irrationally despite being physically normal

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Lacks memory but otherwise functions normally