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Philosophy IB > Consciousness essay > Flashcards

Consciousness essay Flashcards

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1
Q

Introduction 1

A

Link stimulus to a question

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2
Q

Introduction 2

A

Unpack stimulus

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3
Q

Introduction 3

A

Dualists, such as Descartes would argue for the idea, that human consciousness is immaterial and advanced beyond scientific understanding, as they believe the mind and body are not the same, and the mind cannot be studied scientifically.

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4
Q

Introduction 4

A

Monists, such as Dennett, would argue that our consciousness is more biological, and can be studied scientifically, as they believe the mind and body are the same and the mind can be studied scientifically.

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5
Q

Introduction 5

A

Greenfield, a neuroscientist, would also agree with monism, and a more scientific approach.

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6
Q

Introduction 6

A

This links to the question what is a human being, as this stimulus explores x.

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7
Q

Introduction 7

A

I believe that the mind cannot be studied scientifically, as it is not the same as the brain, and it is too personal.

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8
Q

Introduction 8

A

Therefore link my view to stimulus.

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9
Q

Descartes explain 1

A

Descartes believed the body and mind could not be the same, as the mind was too brilliant to be physical like the body.

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10
Q

Descartes explain 2

A

Leibniz’s Law of identity states that for two things to be the same, they must share all of the same properties at the same time.

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11
Q

Descartes explain 3

A

Therefore because the mind and the body do not share the property of both being physical/not physical, Descartes believed that they must be different.

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12
Q

Descartes explain 4

A

Descartes believed that the mind was a Res cogitans (thinking thing), and the body was a Res extensa (extended thing).

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13
Q

Descartes explain 5

A

The distinction between the two comes from the idea that the mind is indivisible, whereas the body is divisible.

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14
Q

Descartes explain 6

A

Descartes uses the example of a limb being cut off, as this is possible, but you cannot cut part of the mind off.

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15
Q

Descartes explain 7

A

Descartes believed that the relationship between the body and the mind was reciprocated between each other, and they communicated in the pineal gland, which he named the ‘seat of the soul’.

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16
Q

Descartes explain 8

A

He believed that the mind acted on the body for instructions such as movement, and the body acted on the mind for things such as sensory input.

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17
Q

Descartes analyse 1

A

Due to Descartes’ belief in Res cogitans and Res extensa, he would be more in line with x idea from the stimulus.

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18
Q

Descartes analyse 2

A

He would agree with y idea about the stimulus.

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19
Q

Descartes analyse 3

A

He would disagree from z ideas about the stimulus.

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20
Q

Descartes evaluate 1

A

Descartes ideas have been criticised heavily, and most of these criticisms come from the disagreement of dualism.

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21
Q

Descartes evaluate 2

A

Dan Dennett critiqued Descartes for his ideas as he did not believe they were scientific enough.

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22
Q

Descartes evaluate 3

A

Link to the stimulus

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23
Q

Descartes evaluate 4

A

Dennett’s main scientific criticisms were that the mind and body do not communicate in one place, the pineal gland, and that something material and immaterial cannot interact.

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24
Q

Descartes evaluate 5

A

The issue with the pineal gland can now be seen to be false with modern technology such as an fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scan, which can show were the active parts of the brain are, and it shows that not just the pineal gland is active.

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25
Descartes evaluate 6
‘The problem of interaction’, which is the idea of how immaterial and material objects could possible interact without breaking the laws of physics is also relevant to Descartes, as the mind is immaterial, but the body is material, but they can interact.
26
Descartes evaluate 7
David Hume criticised the idea that the mind is unified, stating that the mind was a 'bundle of perception' which we constantly experience.
27
Descartes evaluate 8
Therefore both of these criticisms lean to x interpretation of the stimulus.
28
Descartes evaluate 9
I believe that although the idea of the pineal gland being outdated due to neuroimaging, the idea of the mind being immaterial could still be true, as it is more of a concept that a real physical thing.
29
Dennett explain 1
Dan Dennett believed that the mind and body were the same, as he believed all ideas must align with science.
30
Dennett explain 2
Due to him being a naturalist, he believed that any discussion about consciousness must be confined to current scientific understanding.
31
Dennett explain 3
He used a metaphor of an end-user of an app to describe his thoughts about the brain.
32
Dennett explain 4
He stated that both humans and computers are made up of billions of cells, living for humans and electronic for computers, and these billions of cells are working all the time which produces consciousness for humans, and an end screen for computers.
33
Dennett explain 5
These cells, although working constantly, are not seen by anyone.
34
Dennett explain 6
This shows how for something to occur, it does not need to be constantly watched and commanded by people, it just happens on its own without knowing.
35
Dennett explain 7
This is known as an inversion of reason, which is something that seems counterintuitive, and Dennett uses the example of evolution to explain this.
36
Dennett explain 8
He said that evolution was able to create beautiful things without ever knowing what it was doing.
37
Dennett explain 9
He therefore links this to human consciousness, and how it is scientific, and although it can make incredible things, this does not place it above science.
38
Dennett analyse 1
Due to Dennett being a monist and a naturalist, he would be more in line with x idea from the stimulus.
39
Dennett analyse 2
He would agree with y idea about the stimulus.
40
Dennett analyse 3
He would disagree from z ideas about the stimulus.
41
Dennett evaluate 1
Dennett has also been criticised for this ideas, and this criticisms mainly stem from his exclusion of qualia, or human experience from his analogies and beliefs.
42
Dennett evaluate 2
Comparing computers to humans leaves out humans abilities to adapt and feel.
43
Dennett evaluate 3
David Chalmers criticised Dennett for not discussing the 'hard' problem of consciousness in his explanation.
44
Dennett evaluate 4
The 'hard' problem of consciousness is the question of how the cells in our brain can generate conscious experience.
45
Dennett evaluate 5
Dennett gives an answer to what generates consciousness, our brain cells, but does not continue to explain how they do this.
46
Dennett evaluate 6
This links to the question of what is a human being, as Dennett does not explain how consciousness is actually different to any other process in the body, one being generated by cells.
47
Dennett evaluate 7
Similarly, Susan Greenfield critiques Dennett's omission of neurochemicals, as these have a large effect on the brain, and without them the mind cannot be explained.
48
Dennett evaluate 8
This is especially clear in his end-user analogy, as computers do not contain neurochemicals, or anything similar.
49
Dennett evaluate 9
This also links to the question of what is human, as neurochemicals play a huge part in what makes a human experience different to other things.
50
Dennett evaluate 10
I disagree with Dennett, as only discussing ideas which fit with current understanding of science is very limiting, especially because science has been wrong so many times.
51
Dennett evaluate 11
I also think that his comparisons of the brain to a computer leave out any acknowledgement of what it is actually like to experience consciousness as a human being.
52
Greenfield explain 1
Susan Greenfield is a neuroscientist and believes that the mind and body are the same.
53
Greenfield explain 2
She also believed that understanding of the mind needs to fit with current scientific understanding, but focused more on neuroscience than just laws of physics and other scientific ideas.
54
Greenfield explain 3
She attempted to solve the 'hard' problem of consciousness by finding where in the brain consciousness is produced.
55
Greenfield explain 4
She first tried to macro and micro levels to see if this is where this occurred, but after ruling out the macro due to fMRI scanner results, as it shows that no one area of the brain is solely responsible for a cognitive function, and the micro due to us losing neurons all the time without losing consciousness, she focused on the miso level.
56
Greenfield explain 5
This led her to believe that the neural correlate of consciousness (NCC), which is the feature of the brain which produces consciousness and subjective experience are neuronal assemblies.
57
Greenfield explain 6
Neuronal assemblies are groups of neurons which are highly transient.
58
Greenfield explain 7
Due to her believing that neuronal assemblies are what make something consciousness, she believes there are levels of consciousness.
59
Greenfield explain 8
For example, a human would be more conscious than a rat, but less conscious than an elephant.
60
Greenfield analyse 1
Due to Greenfield being a monist, she would be more in line with x idea from the stimulus.
61
Greenfield analyse 2
She would agree with y idea about the stimulus.
62
Greenfield analyse 3
She would disagree from z ideas about the stimulus.
63
Greenfield evaluate 1
The main criticism for Greenfield comes from the idea that neural assemblies are not proven to be what causes consciousness.
64
Greenfield evaluate 2
Greenfield arrived at neural assemblies through a process of elimination and this could just be a coincidence.
65
Greenfield evaluate 3
The main person to use this criticism was Wiliam R Uttal who states that Greenfield assumes that brain activity associated with cognition must be relevant, where it may just be a coincidence.
66
Greenfield evaluate 4
This links with the stimulus and scientific thought, as for something to be studied scientifically, it needs to be able to be falsified, and without a way to test if her idea is true, a cause and effect relationship cannot currently be established.
67
Greenfield evaluate 5
I disagree with Greenfield's idea that there are levels of consciousness, as since there is still a lack of definition of consciousness, it cannot be measured.
68
Conclusion 1
In conclusion, Descartes would agree with the idea of x, as he believes y.
69
Conclusion 2
Dennett and Greenfield would agree with the idea of x, as they believe y.
70
Conclusion 3
Descartes and Greenfield would agree that x as Descartes y, and Greenfield believes z.
71
Conclusion 4
I believe xyz, however I also believe zyx.

Philosophy IB (1 decks)

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