week 11

Question 1

What is the exclusion problem in the context of mental causation?

Answer 1

The argument that if physical states fully cause behavior, mental states become causally redundant.

Question 2

According to E.J. Lowe, how should we understand mental causation?

Answer 2

As an expression of an agent’s causal powers, especially will.

Question 3

How does Peter Menzies propose we rethink causation to support mental causation?

Answer 3

By suggesting that causation includes difference-making, allowing mental and physical causes to coexist.

Question 4

What challenge does Descartes’ dualism face regarding mental causation?

Answer 4

It struggles to explain how two different substances can interact.

Question 5

What does Golightly mean by using the concept of “complementarity” in relation to the mind-body problem?

Answer 5

That mental and physical explanations are two complementary ways of understanding the same phenomenon.

Question 6

Which of the following examples best illustrates Golightly’s idea of complementarity?

Answer 6

Being embarrassed and blushing, explained both psychologically and physiologically.

Question 7

According to Golightly, why is the concept of mental events causing physical events (or vice versa) problematic?

Answer 7

Because it creates confusion by mixing distinct categories.

Question 8

Which of the following statements align with Golightly’s rejection of psychophysical dualism?

Answer 8

• Psychological and physiological events are just two sides of the same coin.
• Emotional states can affect physical health, as in psychosomatic conditions.
• We can understand human behavior through either a psychological or physiological lens, depending on the context.