Exam Three

Pick one question in each group and write a 4-5 page paper for each question.

Group One

1. Present and discuss Putnam and Burge’s externalist claims about meaning. Be sure to discuss what Putnam’s Twin Earth example and Burge’s arthritis case is supposed to establish. What problem does externalism pose for mental causation?
2. Preset and discuss Clark’s Active Externalism/Extended Cognition. Discuss the case of Otto and whether you think Clark is right about this case. Explain why philosophers talk about i) thought experiments, and ii) other possible worlds (i.e., what do these discussions get them).

Group Two

3. Discuss the supervenience arguments against mental causation. Briefly explain what supervenience is. Present and discuss Yablo’s response to the supervenience argument. Discuss whether you find his reasoning convincing?
4. Explain Chalmers’s distinction between the easy and hard problems of consciousness. Comment on whether you find naturalistic dualism a plausible position. Discuss Dennett’s argumentative strategy in “Quining Qualia.” Explain his position.