Is the mind identical to the brain

Instructions

Choose ONE of the questions below. The questions require a careful and critical reading of the compulsory texts. Note that “critical” need not mean “negatively critical”. It’s fine if you find yourself persuaded by the arguments. However, you are to analyze the text and consider its arguments carefully before coming to an overall assessment of it.

Your essay should be a minimum of 1,500 words (excluding footnotes and/or references). Before beginning your essay, look over the PowerPoints provided in Canvas for tips on writing philosophy essays.

Remember that you should always justify your claim with arguments, and/or with reference to academic work. Note: you are expected to do additional reading and research beyond the material discussed in class. Simply rehearsing class discussions is not sufficient. However, do not use Wikipedia or other unreliable resources.

You may use any citation style you like (MLA, APA, Chicago Manual of Style, etc.). The important thing is that you use it consistently and follow accepted guidelines. Sloppy or incomplete citations reflect substandard academic work, and may negatively impact your mark.

If you have citation questions, see the following link: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/(Links to an external site.)

Questions: (choose 1)

Is there any way to reconcile rationalism with empiricism? If so, how can these theories work together, and if not, which is the key to understanding knowledge?

Both Descartes and Locke have very different ideas of how we acquire knowledge, yet both make reference to God. What role does God play in Descartes’ and Locke’s theory of knowledge? Do you think it does more harm than good? Explain.

Explain and evaluate one of Descartes’s arguments for Substance Dualism. Is it successful?

Is the mind identical to the brain? Why or why not?

Do you think that introspection directly reveals the existence of mental states like beliefs and desires? If so, is this a problem for eliminative materialism? Why or why not?

How does materialism/physicalism relate to hard determinism or compatibilism? Do you think this is an adequate theory of free will or lack thereof?

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Readings:

*****Text: Hales, S. D. (2013). This Is Philosophy: An Introduction. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.********

– Week 1/////////////////Introduction////////////Bertrand Russell, “The Value of Philosophy” PDF

– Week 2/////////////Metaphysics///////////////Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” PDF//////////George Berkeley, “An Idealist Theory of Knowledge” PDF

– Week 3//////////Epistemology/////////////Hales, Chapter 7 (223-261)

– Week 4/////////Mind///////////Hales, Chapter 6 (189-217)

– Week 5///////Personal Identity////////Hales, Chapter 5 (149-184)

– Week 6//////Free Will/////Hales, Chapter 4 (115-144)

– Week 7//////God/////Hales, Chapter 3 (63-108)

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