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

Answer

Chalmers distinguishes 'easy' problems (cognitive functions) from the 'hard' problem of explaining why physical processes give rise to subjective, first-person experience.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

Two entirely distinct substances

Answer

Cartesian dualism posits that the mind (res cogitans) and the body (res extensa) are fundamentally different kinds of substance that somehow interact.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

Mind-body identity theory

Answer

The mind-brain identity theory (type physicalism) asserts that mental states are numerically identical to brain states, reducing psychology to neuroscience.

Question 4

Functionalism in philosophy of mind defines mental states by their:

Accepted Answer

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

Answer

Functionalism holds that what makes something a mental state is its functional role—its causal relationships—not its physical makeup.

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

Answer

Nagel argues that no objective physical description can capture what it is subjectively like to experience the world from a particular point of view.

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Practice Test

PhB Bachelor of Philosophy Philosophy of Mind and Consciousness