NEIEP Practice for final exam - Easy Version
Updated 2024 Questions With Complete
Solutions
What part of the argument for free will does Galen Strawson specifically address
in his argument against free will?
Galen Strawson addresses the claim that people act out of their own specific
characters, and not simply as the result of distantly past events.
What was Descartes's response to the mind-body problem?
He claimed to have found that the pineal gland is the location in the body where mind
and body communicate.
What was wrong with Descartes's solution to the mind-body problem?
The problem was about how they communicated, not where they communicated
What would be a logically weird reaction to being told that the Earth's atmosphere
contains oxygen?
It would be weird to think that, if the Earth's atmosphere contained oxygen, we would
not be able to breathe.
What would be a logically weird reaction to being told that the human brain is
deterministic?
It would be weird to think that, if the human brain is deterministic, we would not have
free will.
What would be the clearest logical consequence of Van Inwagen proving that
determinism ruled out free will?
If Van Inwagen proved that determinism ruled out free will it would prove that free will
did not exist
,What would be the logical effect of proving that "she could do otherwise, if she
wanted to" is not good enough to prove that "she could do otherwise," and thus
proving that compatibilism is false.
Given that indeterminism rules out free will, proving that determinism also rules out free
will, would prove that free will does not exist
Which is the best statement of Strawson's conclusion?
Free will does not exist because we are not causally responsible for the content of our
characters.
Which is the correct definition of "Cartesian Dualism?"
That mind and body are two completely different kinds of stuff
Which is the correct definition of "dualism?"
It is the doctrine that there are two different kinds of real stuff.
Which is the correct definition of "monism?"
It is the doctrine that there is only one kind of real stuff.
Which is the correct definition of Volitional Determinism?
Volitional Determinism is the doctrine that each human action is determined by the
conditions (including thoughts, habits, ideas, desires and preferences) that exist inside
the person immediately before the action is taken.
Which of the following best represents your instructor's response to Searle's
Chinese Room argument?
Searle's example is too simple to represent what would actually go on in a hypothesized
conscious computer. At best, it represents some small component in a larger, more
complicated arrangement of processors. It is true that the Chinese Room does not
understand language, but just as individual neurons and various areas of the brain do
not have to understand language in order for the brain as a whole to understand
language, the individual parts of an artificial brain do not have to understand language
in order for the artificial brain to understand language.
Which of the following best represents your instructor's response to the qualia
objection?
Depending on which version of the qualia objection you choose, it fails in one of two
ways. The simple version fails because computers may do qualia by processing
, information in exactly the same way brains do to produce qualia. The deeper no-
explanation version fails because neuroscience is not attempting to explain what any
particular quale feels like, but is instead attempting to explain the fact that qualia exist at
all.
Which of the following best sums up your instructor's response to Van Inwagen's
"consequence" argument.
Young believes that the fact that our personalities are consequences of things that were
not up to us does not mean that the consequences of our personalities (our actions) are
not up to us. The things we do are determined by our personalities, and if something is
determined by the personality you actually have, that means it's very much up to you.
Which of the following correctly describes the logical problem with Descartes's
argument for Cartesian Dualism?
Descartes's argument relies on the idea that if two things have no properties in
common, then each must be able to exist without the other. But this would mean that a
dance can exist without anyone dancing it, and that someone can go for a drive without
a vehicle to drive in. Both these conclusions are clearly false, so the basic logic of
Descartes's argument must be invalid.
Which of the following has to be true in order for Descartes's original argument to
prove Cartesian dualism?
If two things have no properties in common, then each of them can exist completely
independently of the other.
Which of the following is Descartes's argument for his form of dualism?
Mind and body have no characteristics in common, so they are completely different
types of being.
Which of the following is NOT a premise of Van Inwagen's argument?
Events that are consequences of events that are not up to us can also be events that
are up to us.
Which of the following is a correct description of the mind-body problem?
Descartes's theory implies that mind and body cannot communicate, so the fact that
they do communicate proves that his theory is false.
Which of the following is a correct statement of the mind brain identity theory?
Updated 2024 Questions With Complete
Solutions
What part of the argument for free will does Galen Strawson specifically address
in his argument against free will?
Galen Strawson addresses the claim that people act out of their own specific
characters, and not simply as the result of distantly past events.
What was Descartes's response to the mind-body problem?
He claimed to have found that the pineal gland is the location in the body where mind
and body communicate.
What was wrong with Descartes's solution to the mind-body problem?
The problem was about how they communicated, not where they communicated
What would be a logically weird reaction to being told that the Earth's atmosphere
contains oxygen?
It would be weird to think that, if the Earth's atmosphere contained oxygen, we would
not be able to breathe.
What would be a logically weird reaction to being told that the human brain is
deterministic?
It would be weird to think that, if the human brain is deterministic, we would not have
free will.
What would be the clearest logical consequence of Van Inwagen proving that
determinism ruled out free will?
If Van Inwagen proved that determinism ruled out free will it would prove that free will
did not exist
,What would be the logical effect of proving that "she could do otherwise, if she
wanted to" is not good enough to prove that "she could do otherwise," and thus
proving that compatibilism is false.
Given that indeterminism rules out free will, proving that determinism also rules out free
will, would prove that free will does not exist
Which is the best statement of Strawson's conclusion?
Free will does not exist because we are not causally responsible for the content of our
characters.
Which is the correct definition of "Cartesian Dualism?"
That mind and body are two completely different kinds of stuff
Which is the correct definition of "dualism?"
It is the doctrine that there are two different kinds of real stuff.
Which is the correct definition of "monism?"
It is the doctrine that there is only one kind of real stuff.
Which is the correct definition of Volitional Determinism?
Volitional Determinism is the doctrine that each human action is determined by the
conditions (including thoughts, habits, ideas, desires and preferences) that exist inside
the person immediately before the action is taken.
Which of the following best represents your instructor's response to Searle's
Chinese Room argument?
Searle's example is too simple to represent what would actually go on in a hypothesized
conscious computer. At best, it represents some small component in a larger, more
complicated arrangement of processors. It is true that the Chinese Room does not
understand language, but just as individual neurons and various areas of the brain do
not have to understand language in order for the brain as a whole to understand
language, the individual parts of an artificial brain do not have to understand language
in order for the artificial brain to understand language.
Which of the following best represents your instructor's response to the qualia
objection?
Depending on which version of the qualia objection you choose, it fails in one of two
ways. The simple version fails because computers may do qualia by processing
, information in exactly the same way brains do to produce qualia. The deeper no-
explanation version fails because neuroscience is not attempting to explain what any
particular quale feels like, but is instead attempting to explain the fact that qualia exist at
all.
Which of the following best sums up your instructor's response to Van Inwagen's
"consequence" argument.
Young believes that the fact that our personalities are consequences of things that were
not up to us does not mean that the consequences of our personalities (our actions) are
not up to us. The things we do are determined by our personalities, and if something is
determined by the personality you actually have, that means it's very much up to you.
Which of the following correctly describes the logical problem with Descartes's
argument for Cartesian Dualism?
Descartes's argument relies on the idea that if two things have no properties in
common, then each must be able to exist without the other. But this would mean that a
dance can exist without anyone dancing it, and that someone can go for a drive without
a vehicle to drive in. Both these conclusions are clearly false, so the basic logic of
Descartes's argument must be invalid.
Which of the following has to be true in order for Descartes's original argument to
prove Cartesian dualism?
If two things have no properties in common, then each of them can exist completely
independently of the other.
Which of the following is Descartes's argument for his form of dualism?
Mind and body have no characteristics in common, so they are completely different
types of being.
Which of the following is NOT a premise of Van Inwagen's argument?
Events that are consequences of events that are not up to us can also be events that
are up to us.
Which of the following is a correct description of the mind-body problem?
Descartes's theory implies that mind and body cannot communicate, so the fact that
they do communicate proves that his theory is false.
Which of the following is a correct statement of the mind brain identity theory?
