Philosophy of Mind
Your essay must be 3-5 pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font. It will be automatically checked for plagiarism by SafeAssign. Plagiarism will result in an automatic 0 for the assignment. There may also be further disciplinary actions from the school.
I have included a rubric detailing how your essay will be graded. It is divided into five sections, each worth 20 points. In each section, you will earn points as follows.
On the writing section, you will be graded based on the quality of your writing. To earn 12 points, your essay must be clear, with well-developed paragraphs, complete and grammatical sentences, and words chosen for their precise meanings. To earn 16 points, your essay must also start with an introduction that motivates the project and plainly states your thesis and finish with a conclusion that both summarizes your evaluation of the position clearly and explores implications or limitations of your assessment. To earn all 20 points, your essay musthave aclear and logical organizational plan as well, with ideas, sentences, and paragraphs building naturally in support of your thesis. To accomplish this, you must make sure your organizational plan would be obvious to the average reader, and you must use transitional words, phrases, and sentences to show how your sentences and paragraphs relate to each other and to your thesis.
On the section concerning your understanding of the position, you will be graded based on your explanation of substance dualist interactionism. To earn 12 points on this section, you will need to explain substance dualism and distinguish it from physicalist theories of the mind. To earn 16 points, you will also need to explain interactionism and distinguish it from epiphenomenalism. To earn all 20 points, you will also need to explain in detail why the existence of qualia motivates many people to accept dualism.
On the illustration section, you will need to provide your own realistic example to illustrate substance dualist interactionism. It needs to be realistic, and you need to come up with it on your own. For instance, you cannot use the example about hunger I presented in class, though that is the type of example I am looking for. To earn 12 points, your example needs to illustrate one-way causal influence, the idea that either the mind or the body has a causal influence on the other one. To earn 16 points, your example also needs to illustrate two-way causal influence, the idea that the mind and the body both have an influence on each other. To get all 20 points, you need to explain as well how this example illustrates substance dualist interactionism, in detail and with clarity, and why it is difficult to explain such interaction.
On the first evaluation section, you will be graded based on your explanation and evaluation of the Knowledge Argument. To earn 12 points on this section, you need to explain the Mary Thought Experiment. To earn 16 points, you will also need to present and critique the Knowledge Argument in your own words. To critique it, you will need to explain whether the premises are true, whether the reasoning is valid, and why you think so. To earn all 20 points, you will also need to present and assess the representationalist reply to the Knowledge Argument discussed in class.
On the second evaluation section, you will be graded based on your explanation and evaluation of the Argument from Science. To earn 12 points on this section, you need to explain why substance dualist interactionism requires non-physical causes. To earn 16 points, you will also need to present and critique the Argument from Science in your own words. To critique it, you will need to explain whether the premises are true, whether the reasoning is valid, and why you think so. To earn all 20 points, you will need to consider and assess a possible reply to the Argument from Science.
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(Writing)
1.Clear and logical organizational plan, with ideas, sentences, and paragraphs building naturally in support of the thesis
(Understanding)
2.Explains in detail why the existence of qualia motivates many people to accept dualism
(Illustration)
3.Explains how the example illustrates substance dualist interactionism, in detail and with clarity, and why it is difficult such interaction seems mysterious
(Evaluation)
4.Presents and evaluates the representationalist reply
(Evaluation)
5.Considers and evaluates a possible reply to the Argument from Science
