Deck 6: Self

Question 1

If we know our own mind directly and without any doubts,it follows that we can know other people's minds directly as well.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Most philosophers find it necessary to embrace some version of the theory of solipsism.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One difficulty for John Locke's memory theory of self-identity is that if Jones were to wake up with Smith's brain,after a brain transplant,even though Jones would have Smith's memories,Jones probably wouldn't be able to say which self she is.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

If Sartre's existential account of the self is true,then the self is an unfinished process until the end of our lives.

Question 5

Functionalists argue that mental states are functions of the brain and can have no other material embodiment.

Question 6

According to Sartre,bad faith (mauvaise foi)is our betrayal of our true,core selves.

Question 7

What we think of ourselves and what we think of as significant about ourselves depend,to a great extent,on the context in which we are trying to explain who we are.

Question 8

Soren 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.

Question 9

John Stuart Mill's argument from analogy begins by assuming that other person's have minds,like yours.

Question 10

Philosophers who defend a holistic conception of self reject reducing questions of the mind and body to questions about the brain.

Question 11

Being "attractive" or "good-looking" makes sense only in the context of a particular society.

Question 12

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

Question 13

David Hume agreed with Descartes that there was a single self,but disagreed with him about the nature of this single self.

Question 14

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

Question 15

Leibniz argued that mental events and physical events do not really interact,but in fact,stand in a "pre-established harmony" with one another.

Question 16

Aristotle located emotions in the id ("it")as opposed to the ego,suggesting that they threatened the integrity of the self rather than being part of it.

Question 17

If philosophical behaviorism is true,then pains and other sensations are simply identified with the dispositions to behave in a certain way.

Question 18

According to Hegel,we discover our true selves only when we break through social conventions and become individuals free of society's influence.
.

Question 19

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.

Question 20

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

Question 21

Our whole religious and philosophical traditions have taught us to emphasize

A) our mental and spiritual characteristics.
B) our physical characteristics.
C) our place of national origins.
D) our family history.

Question 22

The essential self consists in

A) the various descriptions of ourselves that we produce for various occasions.
B) the set of characteristics that defines a particular person,beneath the various descriptions of ourselves that we produce for various occasions.
C) whatever we believe ourselves to be.
D) whatever others believe us to be.

Question 23

According to the authors of the text,our certainty that we are individuals demonstrates the core truth that we have essential selves.

Question 24

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

A) (2)mind and body do not exist.
B) (2)mind and body are social constructions.
C) (2)mind and body are one.
D) (2)mind and body are not separate
Substances.

Question 25

An objection to the idea of cultivating our self through our passions or emotions is that

A) the self is a set of memories that define who we are.
B) our emotions are mental and not physical.
C) our emotions are physical and not mental.
D) our emotions sometimes make us misperceive the way things really are and motivate us to do things that,with just a moment's clear thinking,we certainly would not do.

Question 26

To say that emotions have intentionality is to say that they

A) are about or "directed toward" people,things or states of affairs.
B) are purposeful and deliberate.
C) intend either good or evil.
D) are simply physiological states of the body.

Question 27

For a behaviorist,if being in love is a mental state it would have to be

A) a sequence of behaviors,such as: agitation in the presence of the loved one,writing long letters in the middle of the night,etc.
B) an inner feeling.
C) an aspect of an underlying mental substance.
D) impossible to observe.

Question 28

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

A) the self is identical with the brain.
B) there is no self.
C) the self is a pattern of behavior.
D) the self lies always in the future; it is what we aim toward,as we try to make ourselves into something.

Question 29

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

Question 30

When William James argued that emotions were feelings,he meant that they were

A) irrational feelings.
B) the feelings caused by changes in the body.
C) similar to ESP.
D) feelings of a divine presence.

Question 31

According to Aristophanes,love has it is origins in the desire for completion and the search for the other half of oneself.

Question 32

If John Locke's theory of the self as consciousness is correct then

A) bodies do not exist.
B) someone who has amnesia about his life in the past,could be said to be a different self.
C) only God knows who our selves are.
D) solipsism is true.

Question 33

Hegel,Karl Marx and Martin Heidegger are in agreement on the fact that human selves are primarily social beings.
.

Question 34

A person's self-identity consists in

A) only a particular description,such as "I am from Toledo."
B) only a general description,such as "I am a human being."
C) both a general and a particular description.
D) neither a general nor a particular description.

Question 35

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

A) two different substances which are in a pre-established harmony.
B) two aspects of one and the same substance.
C) two aspects of an underlying mental reality.
D) two aspects of a non-substantial reality.

Question 36

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

A) they should not be able to interact,which they can.
B) our physical descriptions of behavior are inaccurate.
C) they should both have the same properties,which they don't.
D) mentalistic language should be replaced.

Question 37

The egocentric predicament begins with the assumption that

A) we are,at root,selfish beings.
B) we are destined to live always alone in the world.
C) we know our own mind directly and beyond any doubt.
D) we can have no knowledge of the external world.

Question 38

Functionalists argue that mental states are functions that

A) can be embodied in different materials,including brains and computers
B) have no physical embodiment.
C) can occur only in brains.
D) are identical with different behaviors.

Question 39

Mill's argument from analogy begins with the fact that

A) solipsism is necessarily true.
B) the other's bodily movements and mental states are correlated.
C) your mental states and your bodily movements are correlated.
D) there are no minds,only bodies.

Question 40

From the moment we are born,we establish and reestablish bonds with others,not just particular people,but types of people.

Question 41

Describe Aristophanes fable or myth of the origins of love.

Question 42

The authors of our text point out that our image of ourselves as individuals is paradoxical because

A) in fact selves do not exist.
B) it is an image that we have been taught by society,precisely because we are not mere individuals.
C) it implies we are always in bad faith.
D) the self is "Spirit," as Hegel says.

Question 43

What is the argument from analogy for other minds?

Question 44

What is Adam Smith's "invisible hand"?

Question 45

According to Sartre,the way I choose to respond to the facts of my life is my

A) facticity.
B) essence.
C) transcendence.
D) egocentric predicament.

Question 46

What does it mean for somebody to be in bad faith?

Question 47

Buddhists would agree with David Hume that

A) there is no individual self.
B) that there is a cosmic self.
C) there is an essential self.
D) the self is an aspect of consciousness and not the body.

Question 48

What is solipsism?

Question 49

What does identity theory say mental states are?

Question 50

The image of man as "an onion," with hundreds of different layers (selves),and no core,was developed by

A) Dewey.
B) Sartre.
C) Hesse.
D) Hegel.

Question 51

There are in general two broad conceptions of relationships: "us versus them" and

A) "me versus them."
B) "Spirit."
C) "we."
D) "you."

Question 52

What does behaviorism say about the nature of the mental?

Question 53

The idea that an "invisible hand" will guarantee the overall good of society through the workings of a free and competitive market is the invention of

A) Adam Smith.
B) David Hume
C) Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
D) John Locke.

Question 54

Modern capitalism assumes

A) the social good requires that we focus on others' needs,not our own.
B) the social good will best be served by everyone pursuing his or her own interests.
C) a social self.
D) an essential self.

Question 55

Briefly explain why,according to Thomas Nagel,it's so difficult to understand what it's like to be a bat.

Question 56

What does Sartre mean by transcendence?

Question 57

According to Jean-Paul Sartre,our relationships

A) begin in harmony,and then break down.
B) demonstrate the existence of a core self.
C) are really more about "we" than "us versus them"
D) are always characterized by conflict.

Question 58

The notion that our true self-identity is a universal self-identity,called "Spirit," is a conclusion arrived at by

A) Dewey.
B) Hume.
C) Sartre.
D) Hegel.

Question 59

It can be argued that we recognize thoughts only because

A) we have words and concepts that allow us to.
B) those thoughts arise from a core,essential self.
C) we exist as individuals prior to our social context.
D) there is no self.

Question 60

Why is it false to call emotions irrational or unintelligent?

Question 61

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?

Question 62

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 selfto body,to self 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?

Question 63

This is an exercise in experimental philosophy.
Interview five - seven people,asking them
(a)to list five or more qualities essential or significant for who they are as selves.
(If they need help,you can help them out with a starter list that includes,sex,race,body type,job,etc.)Then,create a sheet with short statements that present clearly and simply the major views on self in this chapter (e.g.,self as body,self as consciousness,self as social,etc.).
(b)Ask your interviewees to rank the viewpoints in terms of which they find most and least believable.
(c)Ask them to briefly explain their rankings.
Make sure you record the results of your interviews.
How do the results from (a),(b)and (c)match up?
Are the qualities thought to be essential to oneself (a)what one would expect in light of the answers to (b)and (c)?
Feel free to change these questions,and/or to add additional questions.Write up your results and look for emerging patterns and interesting differences among the viewpoints of your interviewees.
What did you learn about how people "on the street" conceive of the self?
How different/similar is this from the way philosophers have thought about the self?

Question 64

The problem of solipsism or "the egocentric predicament" is a philosophical problem that has echoes in real life problems of relationships-especially isolation and loneliness.
Write an essay explaining how both the philosophical and real life problems are related to and arise from certain preconceptions about the nature of the self as an "essential" individual reality,separate from the world.
How does Mill's argument from analogy attempt to resolve this problem?
Is it successful?
How do people in real life attempt to bridge the gap between self and others?
Finally,describe a contrasting social conception of the self,and how it makes the problem of solipsism disappear,while changing the understanding of the self in relationships.

Question 65

What does it mean to be a self?
Construct an argument for your own viewpoint.
You'll be arguing for some version of the conclusion "The self is X."
Develop one objection or counterargument and answer that objection.
Your essay can focus on key issues,such as whether the self is an individual,whether it is bodily,social etc.
You can draw freely on resources in the chapter,but you're not limited to this.

Question 66

Develop a fictional dialogue in which two characters argue over whether the self is an individual or social reality.
The two characters should construct arguments and offer criticisms of one another's arguments.
They can agree to disagree,or find some areas of agreement.
The dialogue should address various conceptions of the self and self-identity,including: self-identity; how the self relates to body; the self as consciousness and memory; the self as emotion; the self as social; and the self in relationships.