PHIL Exam #2 PDF

Review 1. What is the Cosmological Argument for God(s) existence? 2. Be able to explain the different versions of the cosmological argument offered by Aquinas (for our purposes, he has three versions—in terms of motion, necessity, and efficient causation – you do not need to know anything about Ar...

Review 1. What is the Cosmological Argument for God(s) existence? 2. Be able to explain the different versions of the cosmological argument offered by Aquinas (for our purposes, he has three versions—in terms of motion, necessity, and efficient causation – you do not need to know anything about Aristotle’s views of causation). Aquinas (you wrote your essay on him) 1. From motion 2. From efficient causation (a cause sufficient to explain what occurred) 3. From contingency (contingent being suggests necessary being) For motion, you news a prime mover (GOD) For efficient causation, you need a necessary cause For contingent beings, you need a non-contingent (NECESSARY) being. 3. We looked at several objections to this argument. Know all of these objections from your notes. 1) BRUTE FACTS - The assumption that makes the argument work seems to be falsified by the god it tries to assume - An uncaused God is no more explanatory than assuming that taking the existence of the universe itself, as a brute fact 2) SELF-CAUSERS - The universe causes itself to exist - God caused the universe to exist and God causes itself to exist - Both of these accounts violate the principle of sufficient reason - Both of these theories do account for the origination of the universe with the same degree of adequacy  3) FIRST CAUSES - GOD CAUSED THE UNIVERSE TO EXIST AND THERE IS A CAUSE FOR GOD’S EXISTENCE - THE UNIVERSE IS CAUSED TO EXIST BY SOME UNKNOWN EXTERNAL CAUSE - If you endorse the principle of sufficient reason, then you cannot stop at God - Why? You just said everything that exists must have a sufficient reason for its existence. That will include God because God is something - If you deny the principle of sufficient reason, then the main thrust of the cosmological argument is lost 4) INFINITE SETS - The universe is either a finite set OR the universe is an infinite set - Goes on infinitely into the future but has a finite beginning - Universe has an ending, but no beginning - We’d still have to explain where it came from, but we wouldn’t need to explain how it began 4. What is the Design or Teleological Argument for the Existence of God(s)? What is Paley’s specific version of the argument? 1. Purpose 2. Order 3. Complexity 4. Suggests a Designer Paley’s argument: the same way that a watch has an intelligent designer/maker, so must nature 5. We looked at several objections to this argument. Know all of these objections from your notes. 1. Not comparing universes to other universes but a universe to a machine (very different things)  2. Comparing living things to machines 3. (OUR) Lack of knowledge 4. Unrepresentative sample – only seeing a tiny part of the whole 5. Design flaws– our universe has flaws 6. Doesn’t prove God’s existence – could be anything/one 7. Competing explanation: evolution via natural selection 6. What is the logical problem of evil? 1) God is all-knowing 2) God is all-powerful 3) God is all-good 4) Evil Exists The attributes of God are inconsistent with the existence of Evil. Evil exists, therefore, there is no God. 7. What is the Evidential argument from evil ? The degree and kind of evil in the world provides a best explanation argument against the existence of God 8. What options do theists have for responding to the logical problem of evil? To the evidential problem of evil? According to your notes. L: ○ Change our account of God ○ Deny the Existence of Evil ○ Give a Reason for Evil Theodicy ○ Best of all Possible Worlds ○ Blame Humans ○ Higher Order Goods make Evil Necessary E: 9. What is the difference between natural and moral evils? Natural: Volcanoes, disease, earthquakes, suffering, etc Moral evils: Evils brought about by human wrongdoing and/or morally bad attitudes 10. What is the tri-partite view of God? What are the three perfections? - God is all-powerful - All-knowing - All-good 11. What is an open theist? - Someone (a theist) who denies at least one of the tri-partites 12. Be able to explain the soul-making and the free-will defense of theism. Soul-Making: ○ Character-building + Free Will ○ Part of us is already in God’s image but not yet in God’s likeness (moral perfection) reached through evolution in each individual’s life through free choices ○ The world is a proving ground. It is not supposed to be pleasant (test) Free Will ○ God created free beings, but it was wrong for them to misuse their freedom. Evil is the result of the bad choices made by humans and other fallen beings. 13. Why does the free-will defense run into significant problems when used against the evidential argument from evil? Doesn’t explain the amount of distribution of evil in the world Free will doesn’t give an account to innocents suffering? 14. We looked at several distinct theories of mind/body (Cartesian Dualism, property dualism, Idealism, Behaviorism, Identity theory, and functionalism). Be able to explain each of these views. Be aware of the main objections to each view from your notes. D- minds and bodies are distinct Elizabeth: How does a physical interact w/ a nonphysical? (Buildings=uni) C- humans are the union of mental/physical substances. PD- there’s one ‘stuff’ and it has phys/mental properties / I- there’s only one thing–minds ; no physical things. B- early 20th, psyc’s. The mind is nothing other than our behavior (logical + methadological) - L: Mental states are dispositions to act a way - M: The ‘mind’ is not a proper subject of scientific study. We can only study/observe behavior Has nothing to say about the mind. Either says it’s not appropriate so scientifically study OR IT- mind identical to the brain - brain states = the mind Applies that non-human animals can experience pain, robots could never experience pain. “Brain part X = pain” F- the mind is a product of the brain- process. It’s what the brain or body does Some versions are likely false.. Searle’s China Room- doing something ; not understanding it 15. What is Descartes’ main argument in support of Cartesian Dualism? What is Elizabeth’s main objection to Dualism? How does Descartes reply? Identical things share all properties in common Cannot doubt existence of our bodies We cannot doubt the ex. Of our own minds So our minds and bodies cannot be identical - Interaction problem - Sexism, repetition - concedes, writes book about pit gland 16. What is the problem of multiple realizability? What view of mind does this pose a problem for? Why? Mental states can be realized in different ways - problem for ID theorist 17. What is the Turing test? Have any AI ever passed the Turing Test? A test to see if machine can think ○ If person cannot identify machine vs. person in convo, AI passes the test Yes, they have passed the Turing test 2014 non controversial pass 2024 ChatGPT passed better than humans 18. What is the Chinese Room argument? Function of speaking Chinese but not understanding 19. What is the question ‘what is it like to be a bat?’ supposed to draw attention to? What is the argument?  We can never know what it’s like to be a bat because it’s so alien compared to our own experience Points to a feature of consciousness that is intractable and unexplainable Natural of phenomenal consciousness, subjectivity, qualia 20. What is Qualia? A property that subjective conscious experiences are supposed to have What it is like of beingness of existing “Painfulness of pain” 21. What is the inverted Spectrum problem? A world where someone is just like you except their colour spectrum is reversed. They have the same qualia seeing a green strawberry as us seeing a red one Subjective experience is radically different to ours 22. What is the Knowledge argument (Mary the color scientist)? Mary is a colour expert – red Lives in a VR only seeing black, white, grey, so never experienced red but knows everything about red Defends her dissertation so she’s allowed to see red Did she learn something new seeing red? If physicalism is false, there are non-phys features of the world we can only learn thru experience Physicalism is a philosophical view that all things are physical in nature, and that there is nothing that exists beyond the physical 23. What is up with Zombies and the mind? Zombies have no qualia. Functionally respond If possible… Physicalism is false 24. What are the easy problems of consciousness? What is the hard problem? Easy: how are we aware we exist Hard: how can physical brain processes give rise to a subject experience itself? What + why is qualia? Why does subjective experience exist? 25. What is determinism? What is the difference between determinism and fatalism? D: the past + laws of nature causally determine with 100% certainty the future. ○ If we knew everything about the past + laws of nature, we could predict the future. Future is causally connected to past F: everything that happens is fated to happen, MUST happen, is predetermined. ○ Everything is written at the beginning of the universe 26. What is the difference between easy, medium, and premium free will? E: You are not coerced. You do what you want to do M: Alt. possibilities P: Determinism must be false. You must be the ultimate cause of everything you do 27. What is the difference between a source and a leeway account of freedom? Leeway: Alt. possibilities. Ability to do otherwise (Leeway=options) Source: Must be able to do what you want to do (Source = source of want/desire) 28. What is the Consequence Argument? If determinism is true, fatalism is also true 29. How does Harry Frankfurt respond to the consequence argument? Nobody requires alt. Possibilities to be free. We just need source freedom. He brings up the evil politician case 30. According to class lecture notes, what is the neuro-science argument against free will? Libet cases- clock hand/wrist flick experiment ○ 550 ms b4 people flick wrist, there’s a readiness “voltage?” ○ Reports of conscious intention to flick wrist 200 ms prior to action Problem for dualists 31. How does Al mele respond to Libet cases? Should be discussing greater decisions (such as who you will marry, etc.) We need a BETTER MODEL Judgment times are unreliable, especially with ms 32. How does Robin Repko respond to Libet cases? ‘Optimistic’ take on Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) ○ Technology allowing communication We shouldn’t see machines as threatening free will 33. What is Galen Strawson’s/Nietzsche’s argument against free will? Consequence argument is a problem We do what we do because of the way we are  N: if things we do are caused by way we are, then we have to be responsible for way we are, but according to determinism we’re not