Picard, captain of Enterprise, comes to Data’s defense and sees him as a body that knows what he wants or that can make up his own mind and is not altered by a computer. I feel that Picard exhibits a mind/body problem similar to dualism when he argues in defense of Data in his trial. The reason I feel this is because he exhibited the explanations that Hasker says describes dualism, which is that human beings have physical and mental properties. Dualism has the breakdown of the two properties, both physical and mental. Hasker describes physical as a property of the body or the “soul” of the body.
In this case there is the argument on if Data, the Android Robert, has a mind (or soul). Picard defends Data in that he is more than just an Android, that he has a mind and soul and that he should be considered as a human person, having the same rights. Picard takes the Dualism theory approach. He believes that Data has a mind (or soul). “Since the mind is seen as a completely nonphysical entity, the mind (or soul) cannot be generated through the biological process of reproduction” (Hasker p. 67).
There are many creatures that attain the characteristics of a cyborg. Rick Deckard, the main protagonist in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is constantly exposed to androids, the human-machine creature, that define the binary of real and unreal. Because all androids have human-like qualities, it seems impossible to determine whether or not these androids are truly alive. Likewise, Kris Kelvin from Solaris is brought in contact with many “alien” like creatures that make him question the realness of these characters. Rheya, Kris Kelvin’s deceased lover, is seen as a real person on Solaris and leaves Kelvin confused and distraught by the idea of her being alive.
Following is a consideration of these two arguments and their connection to the film Inception. Critics argue that Descartes’ belief is that sense perception relies on the mind rather than on the body. In support of his assertion that we can indeed know our mind more than we can know our body, he gives the example of a piece of wax which is observed in its solid form and is subsequently headed into its liquid form. Descartes then proceeds to comment that relying on one’s senses to understand the nature of the wax is difficult, and then he makes the
In this paper I will examine and evaluate Cleanthes’s argument from design to the existence of God. I argue that although I begin by examine Cleathes’s argument from design to the existence of God. Cleanthes, a character introduced by David Hume in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion, tries to argue that the Universe was created by a designer, presumably God. According to Dan’s analysis at discussion, Cleanthes’s argument takes the following form: “ Premise 1 – The Universe resembles an artifact because: i) It shows a high level of complexity and ii) It has degree of apparently purposive organization Premise 2 – Artifacts are created by designers. Therefore, the Universe was created by a designer.
Anaxagoras’ ideas are in many ways similar to that of Heraclitus; however, there are some deviations that I will highlight in contrasting each philosopher’s theory on the nature of what is. Heraclitus’s main motivation in his philosophical endeavors revolved around his desire to know what is and the organization or order of all things that exist. Heraclitus's central claim in his attempt to answer his curiosities was that the world (and universe for that matter), is ordered, guided, and unified by a rational structure, which he called the LOGOS. This rational structure of the cosmos orders and controls the universe. Thus the LOGOS, in Heraclitus's view, is the unifier in nature.
* * * * * * * * Philosophical Questions Responses * James Dinwiddie * November 25, 2013 * PHL/443 – Mind and Machine * William Rankin What role do metaphors play in helping people understand the concept of artificial intelligence? Do you agree that the brain is a so-called meat machine? What other metaphors might be applicable to the function of the human brain? * Metaphors help individuals understand the concept of artificial intelligence by referencing artificial intelligence concepts to other concepts individuals already understand. Not only do metaphors help individuals understand concepts of artificial intelligence, but also metaphors help individuals understand various concepts and information by using references to concepts individuals already understand.
Theories of Myth Paper University Phoenix Class HUM/105 Rosemary Sykes August 13, 2010 Theories of Myths Scholars approach mythology with three different theories. The three approaches to mythology are rational, functional, and structural. Comparing these theories with two creation myths will give further insight and explanation to why many scholars approach mythology with the three different approaches. These theories will also explain how each creation myth functions in their own respective culture. The rational theory is that myths were created so mankind can have understanding of normal events, which happen in everyday life for society.
In this paper I will argue Cartesian dualism offers a more parsimonious explanation of reality than Darwinian monism. I base my statement on the doubt argument: I can doubt that my body exists but I cannot doubt my existence as a thinking thing and I, a thinking thing, i'm not identical with my body. I can conceive that I, a thinking thing, exist without my extended body existing. I was doing research about the doubt argument that Descartes uses and according to The Principle of the Indiscernibility of Identicals, If two things are identical, then they have exactly the same properties. If it is logically possible that X exist without Y, then X is not identical with Y, therefore I can say that my thinking mind and my extended body are different substances.
In this essay I am going to systematically outline these three arguments whilst also looking at some of the counter arguments against them before finally formulating a personal assessment as to the weight of his claim. The doubting argument is the first Descartes expresses in favour of his dualism. It is essentially a manipulation of his ‘i think therefore i am’ as he observes that while he can call into question the existence of his body, it is impossible for him to doubt the existence of his mind and that he is thinking as through the very act of doubting he would express thought. From this he deduces that due to the fact that the existence of one can be doubted and that of the other cannot, mind and body must be distinct. The argument is laid out as such: Premise 1: I can doubt that my body exists.