[Be sure you are familiar with the format and ground rules for this exam.]

Questions will be referred to by their "names," listed to their left.

"Name"	Question
S-MB	Explain the numerous traditional monist and dualist positions on the mind-body problem. How do the various views account for the apparent interaction between mental and physical events? Which seems most plausible to you? Why? Explain one advantage one of the other views has over the one you find most plausible.
S-FEAT	Explain the "four features of mental phenomena" Searle identifies "which have made them seem impossible to fit into our `scientific' conception of the world" (p.15) Explain the tension in each case between the feature and the scientific conception of the world.
S-INT	What is "intentionality" (as that term is used by Searle)? Give examples of intentional mental states (in this sense of the term) and explain how they are intentional. Is there anything other than mental states that is intentional? If so, what? Explain. What is Searle's explanation for how mental states can be intentional, given his account of what mental states are? Is his explanation satisfactory? Why or why not?
S-LIFE	On page 23 of MB&S Searle makes an analogy between consciousness and life. Explain this analogy and what conclusions Searle draws from it. Critically discuss.
S-MICR	What distinction does Searle make between "micro- and macro-properties of systems?" How does this distinction figure into his proposed solution to the mind-body problem? Explain his solution. Does it seem an adequate solution? Why or why not?
S-THER	According to Searle what does McCarthy think has beliefs? What beliefs does it, supposedly, have? Explain. Why does Searle think this is wrong? Explain. Who is right? Explain.
S-CHIN	Explain Searle's "Chinese Room" thought experiment. What is it supposed to show? Does it do so? Why or why not? (Be sure to consider specific objections to his argument.) Critically discuss.
S-CP	Searle argues that "No computer program by itself is sufficient to give a system a mind" (p.39). Carefully explain this argument. Critically discuss.
S-BEER	Searle thinks that some philosophers believe that "if you made a computer out of old beer cans powered by windmills; if it had the right program, it would have to have a mind." (pages 28f) Why would anyone think that? Try to defend the view that such a "computer" would have a mind. Critically discuss.
S-SYN	What does Searle mean by "syntax?" What does he mean by "semantics?" What does he think this distinction shows about the possibility of computers ever really understanding anything? Why? Critically discuss.
S-OBJ	John Searle addresses (on pages 34f of Minds, Brains, and Science) some of the arguments that have been raised against his "Chinese Room" argument. Explain these objections. Explain and critically discuss Searle's reply to them.
S-BIO	Searle claims that the "biology" of a brain matters to it having mental states (page 40). What does he mean by this? Why does he think it is true? Critically discuss.
S-RULE	In the chapter on "Cognitive Science" Searle talks of following rules and the differences in that regard between human beings and computers. Explain the distinctions Searle draws concerning this and what he says about the difference here between human beings and computers. Critically discuss.
S-ACT	How, according to Searle, do actions differ from (other) physical movements? What does Searle mean by "intentional causation" and what does this have to do with what actions are?
S-PRAC	What is "practical reasoning?" What distinguishes practical reasoning from "theoretical" reasoning? Is Searle's account of practical reasoning plausible? Why or why not?
S-COS	What does Searle mean by "conditions of satisfaction" of mental states. Explain using various examples. What does this have to do with "intentional causation" on Searle's view? Critically discuss.
S-HARD	How might a hard determinist argue that no one is responsible for any of her or his actions? Critically discuss.
S-COMP	Explain the compatibilist view on the relation between free action and determinism. Make this view as plausible as you can and give examples of actions that would be free, and others that would not be free, according to this view. Is compatibilism correct? Explain.
S-FDEF	What does it mean to say that someone does some action freely? That is, how is "acting freely" to be defined? What would an incompatibilist say it means? What would a compatibilist say it means? Who is right? Critically discuss.
S-SOFT	What, according to a soft determinist, does it mean to say that someone did something freely? How is the soft determinist's understanding of freedom different from that of the hard determinist and the libertarian? Critically discuss.
S-FARG	Argue for or against the view known as compatibilism. Critically discuss this view and the arguments for and against it.
S-RCOM	Why does Searle reject the view that free will and determinism are compatible? Critically discuss.
S-TOP	What does John Searle mean by "bottom up" explanation? What does he mean by "top down causation?" What does this have to do with the possibility of freedom of the will in Searle's view? Explain.
F-PAP	What is the "principle of alternate possibilities" that Frankfurt discusses? What connection, if any, does Frankfurt see between this principle and the principle that "moral responsibility is excluded by coercion?" Explain and critically discuss.
F-JONE	Harry Frankfurt in "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" discusses several variations on an example involving Jones. Explain these examples, pointing out the differences among them. What is Frankfurt attempting to show by appealing to a version of this example? Critically discuss.
F-BLAC	Harry Frankfurt in "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" discusses an example involving Black. Carefully explain this example. What is Frankfurt attempting to show by appealing to this example? Does the example show this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
F-REV	Near the end of "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" Harry Frankfurt suggests that the principle of alternate possibilities should be revised in order to yield a principle that is acceptable. What is the original principle? What is the revision? Does this revision avoid the problem he found with the original principle? Critically discuss.
F-PERS	Frankfurt at the beginning of "Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person" distinguished several ways someone might try to distinguish persons from non-persons (such as most non-human animals). Explain three of these ways. Which does Frankfurt propose? Is it a better way of distinguishing persons from non-persons than the other ways? Critically discuss.
F-SOV	Frankfurt talks of second order volitions. What are these? Compare and contrast second order volitions with desires of various kinds. Give examples. What kinds of beings, if any, have second order volitions, according to Frankfurt? Does Frankfurt seem right about all this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
F-WANT	Harry Frankfurt talks about "wantons." What are wantons? What does he distinguish wantons from? Why is it important, according to Frankfurt, whether something is a wonton. Does Frankfurt seem right about all this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
F-FREE	Harry Frankfurt distinguishes freedom of action (acting freely) from freedom of the will (having free will). Carefully explain what Frankfurt means by each. Give examples. Does Frankfurt seem right about all this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
F-CHIS	Frankfurt in "Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person" briefly discusses Roderick Chisholm's view of free will. What is Chisholm's view? What advantages does Frankfurt see in his view (which you should also explain) over Chisholm's view? Does Frankfurt seem right about all this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
F-NOZI	Frankfurt in "Coercion and Moral Responsibility" discusses an account by Robert Nozick of the difference between threats and offers. What is Nozick's criterion for distinguishing these? What is Frankfurt's critique of this? Does Frankfurt seem right about all this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
F-DRUG	In "Coercion and Moral Responsibility" Harry Frankfurt offers several examples of drug dealers and butchers (and one involving setting fire to a hospital). Explain a few (three) of these examples. In each case explore whether there is a threat or an offer (or both or neither). Look at what Nozick's view is in these cases. Does Frankfurt seem right about all this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.
F-CAU	In section I of "The Problem of Action" Feinberg offers a counterexample to causal theories of action. What is a causal theory of action? Explain Feinberg's counterexample. What is this a problem for causal theories? Critically discuss.
F-3BRA	At the beginning of "The Importance of What We Care About" Frankfurt distinguishes three branches of philosophical inquiry. Explain what these branches are. How do they line up (or not) with the three main branches of philosophy which Lee delineated at the beginning of the course. Critically discuss.
F-CARE	What, according to Frankfurt, is it to care about something? Explain his notion of caring. Does Frankfurt seem right about all this? Why or why not? Critically discuss.