Reference no: EM132307097

Assignment

This assignment is intended to get you thinking more about personal identity, the mind-body problem, and the nature of knowledge and truth. It sounds like a lot, but I think it can be done well in about 3 pages; if you can do it more concisely, that's fine. If you need more space, that's acceptable, too. Also, please be prepared to discuss your answers in class.

1) Undertake a little "experiment in consciousness." Do something (or nothing) for 30 minutes. The main thing is that you are alone with your thoughts: no phone, no computer, no one else to talk to. During that time, observe your "self." Who/What is that self you are observing? Say a little bit about it. What theory of personal identity does your answer incline you toward? Be sure to explain whether you subscribe to the "illusion theory," the "body theory," the "soul theory," or the "memory theory," and why. What does your answer say about your position on the mind-body problem? Are you a dualist, a physicalist, or an idealist? Why?

2) Now, examine what you claim to know about yourself light of Descartes' process of doubting. Is your piece of knowledge subject to doubt by the Dream Argument? Explain. Is it subject to doubt by the Evil Demon Argument? Explain. Having subjected your piece of knowledge to Cartesian doubt, do you still know it? Why or why not?

3) Finally, consider something you claim to know as a result of your experiment about the external world. (Of course, you're entitled to say you know nothing, but if so, explain why.) Say what that claim is and how you claim to know it. Is your knowledge is justified on rationalist or empiricist grounds? That is, is it a priori or empirical? Explain. What does this imply regarding the certainty of this knowledge? Be sure to talk about how empiricism is seen to only yield probability and not certainty and why. (Good answers here will refer, at least in part, to the Salmon article).