Philosophy 1: Exam #2 Answer Key

SECTION 4: SHORT ANSWER: The Free Will Debate.

1. Possibible answers: Incompatibilism, the definition of free will, determinism.

2. Some human actions are free.

3. Unconstrained rather than uncaused (2 points). Definition of unconstrained

4. If I had chosen to act otherwise (i.e., my character was different), I would have acted otherwise.

5. Genuine vs. hypothetical possibilities; Explanation of the difference between them (the choice between genuine alternatives).

6. Immanent – caused by the agent, finite chain of causes (definite starting point). Transeunt – infinite chain of causes.

7. Transeunt causation is also mysterious; Explanation – Hume on constant conjunction.

SECTION 5: SHORT ANSWER: Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence.

1. Dual vs. unidirectional causation; Whether the mind is causally efficacious on other mental states

2. Both are dualists who posit causal relations between body and mind.

3. Possible answers: More complex than materialism; they posit relations between two radically different types of entities; mental states are mysterious; mental states and evolution.

4. Qualitative aspects of subjective experience (examples); Irreducible to natural scientific explanation; They are supposed to demonstrate the existence of distinctly mental states.

5. RM – preserving ordinary beliefs and providing a deeper explanation of them; EM – Eliminating misconceptions about the physical world.

6. Shifting of qualia, e.g., the color spectrum, despite consistent color language; Functionalism; It raises skeptical worries about the identity of one mental state with multiple physical states.

7. Analogy between a computer’s and a human being’s use of language. The human being doesn’t understand the meaning of a language when the language consists merely of formal symbols and rules for manipulating them (2 points); The Turing Test tests for simulation of intelligence, not duplication, since it doesn’t test for understanding. In other words, it is insufficient because it is behavioristic: It is essential to consider what is happening inside the computer.

8. Clearly stating one’s view (e.g., intelligence requires consciousness and massive adaptability, but not self-awareness). Argument for whether or not intelligence can be duplicated in a computer (2 points).