Exam 6: Self

The notion that we find our self-identity within universal Spirit, as it struggles through human history to know itself as Spirit, is a conclusion arrived at by

One objection to identity theory is that if mental states are identical with brain states, then

Write an essay addressing the question: What is the self?   The essay should discuss the various conceptions of the self and self-identity sketched in this chapter, including conceptions that relate self to body, to consciousness and memory, and to emotion. What are the pros and cons of these conceptions?   What conception (or combination of conceptions)is the strongest, and why?

A person's self-identity consists in

Identity theorists point to the way "wet" and "cold" water are also the same as "H 2 O" as an example of how something can be identical but have two different descriptions.

Emotions are not simply feelings but also require some reference to the situation and the person's engagement in it.

Bill cuts himself and, feeling pain, cries out "Ouch."   Bill's experience seems to have both physical and mental dimensions-how can this be possible? Write an essay discussing Bill's experience in light of the various attempts to understand and resolve the mind-body problem. Focus on explaining the problem, and then present six solutions to it: Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, behaviorism, identity theory, and functionalism.   What are the pros and cons of each of these theories-does any one theory seem stronger than the others? Why?   Do the theories make any common assumptions about the nature of the mind and body?   Is there an alternative way of conceiving of these realities that is invulnerable to the mind-body problem?

I f substances cannot interact, then it must be true that either (1)mind and body do not interact or

Why is it false to call emotions irrational or unintelligent?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau defended a version of individualism when he claimed that humans were naturally good but became corrupt through the influence of society and social conventions.

A person's self-identity is separate and independent of the way he or she characterizes his or her essential self.

Søren Kierkegaard thought that one's most important mission in life was to cultivate the self by cultivating one's passions, in particular, a passionate commitment to God.

What is solipsism?

Jean-Paul Sartre would argue that theories that identify the self with thinking or with memory are misconceived because

John Stuart Mill's argument from analogy begins by assuming that other persons have minds like your own.

The sense of shared identity we feel on a team is a good example of the "us versus them" approach to understanding relationships.

What is Adam Smith's "invisible hand"?

In Spinoza's dual-aspect theory, the mind and the body are

What is it like to be a bat? Is there any way that you can know what it feels like to be a bat, or what a bat's experience feels like to the bat? If not, how much can you know, or how much can you empathize with, a bat or, in fact, any other living thing, including other human beings?    Alternatively, supposing that you were an intelligent bat, how could you communicate your experience to humans? If a bat could talk, would we (humans)be able to understand it? Construct an argument for your own viewpoint.   Develop at least two objections or counterarguments to your viewpoint and answer them. You can draw freely on resources in the chapter, but you're not limited to them. (You may want to consult David Foster Wallace's essay "Consider the Lobster," for example.)For "bat," you may substitute another name of a kind of being (including a human being), with permission from your professor.

What does behaviorism say about the nature of the mental?