Exam 4 Questions Phil 1
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School
University of California, San Diego *
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Course
1
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
Pages
4
Uploaded by EarlButterflyPerson965
Questions
2.
(a) What is Strong AI?
-
Strong AI refers to the claim that computer programs performing appropriate algorithms
can possess genuine understanding and mental states, similar to human minds.
(b) Why does John Searle reject this view?
-
Searle rejects the view of strong AI because he believes that syntax alone is insufficient
to account for genuine understanding and consciousness.
-
Searle argues against this view and presents his famous "Chinese Room" thought
experiment to highlight the limitations of computational processes in understanding
language and consciousness.
(c) Explain his main argument.
-
John Searle's main argument, known as the Chinese Room Argument, posits that even if
a computer can process and produce responses to questions in Chinese perfectly, the
person inside the room (who does not understand Chinese) merely follows instructions
for manipulating symbols without comprehending the meaning. Therefore, the system
lacks genuine understanding despite appearing to exhibit intelligent behavior,
highlighting the limitations of syntactic processing in achieving true artificial intelligence.
(d) Does Searle’s argument affect functionalism as well? Why/why not?
-
Yes, Searle's argument does affect functionalism. Searle's Chinese Room Argument
challenges functionalism by suggesting that understanding and consciousness cannot
arise solely from functional processes, but rather require a genuine understanding of
meaning and semantics, which is beyond the scope of purely syntactic manipulation.
(e) Let’s assume that Searle internalizes all the instructions and leaves the room so that he
enjoys normal perception (like us) and could act as we do. Will he be able to understand
Chinese? Why/why not?
-
No, even if Searle memorizes all the instructions and leaves the room to experience the
outside world like a normal human, he still would not understand Chinese. Searle's
argument emphasizes that understanding a language goes beyond merely following
instructions; genuine understanding requires a grasp of meaning and semantics, which
he claims is lacking in the manipulation of symbols alone.
3.
(a) How does Nagel define consciousness?
-
Negal defines consciousness as the subjective, first-person experience of being aware
of one's own mental states and sensations. He emphasizes that consciousness involves
a particular point of view, or what it is like to be a specific conscious being.
(b) What does he think the relation between consciousness and one’s point of view is? Why
does he believe that?
-
Nagel believes that consciousness is closely connected to an individual's point of view,
as it originates from their subjective experience and perspective. He argues that
understanding the subjective nature of consciousness is crucial because objective,
third-person accounts cannot fully capture what it is like to have a conscious experience
from the inside, like "being a bat."
(c) Why does he believe that consciousness could not be explained in physical terms?
-
Nagel believes that consciousness cannot be fully explained in physical terms because
subjective experiences, such as what it feels like to perceive colors or taste flavors, are
inherently private and subjective. While describing brain states and neural processes
helps gain knowledge, it falls short of fully understanding the subjective nature of
conscious experiences.
(d) Is his anti-physicalist argument successful? Why/Why not?
-
Nagel's anti-physicalist argument is successful because he highlights the inherent
limitation of reducing consciousness to purely physical explanations. He demonstrates
that even with a complete understanding of the physical processes underlying
consciousness, there remains an explanatory gap in comprehending the subjective
nature of conscious experiences, which he deems as fundamentally irreducible to purely
physical terms.
(a) What is Strong AI?
Strong AI is the claim that a computer program performing specific algorithms can have a
genuine understanding and can have mental states, similar to human minds.
(b) Why does John Searle reject this view?
Searle rejects the view of strong AI because he believes syntax alone is insufficient for the
account of genuine understanding and consciousness. Searle argues against strong AI and
presents his “Chinese Room” thought experiment that highlights the limitations of computer
programs in understanding language and consciousness.
(c) Explain his main argument.
Searle’s main argument, known as the Chinese Room argument, presents that even if a
computer can process and produce responses to questions in Chinese perfectly, the person
inside the room (who does not understand Chinese), merely follows instructions for
manipulating symbols without comprehending meaning. Therefore, the system lacks genuine
understanding and consciousness despite being able to exhibit intellectual behavior, which
highlights the limitations in syntax in being able to achieve true artificial intelligence
(d) Does Searle’s argument affect functionalism as well? Why/why not?
Yes, Searle’s argument does affect functionalism. His “Chinese Room” argument challenges
functionalism by suggesting that understanding and consciousness cannot arise solely from
functional process, but rather requires a genuine understanding of meaning and semantics,
which is beyond the scope of
(e) Let’s assume that Searle internalizes all the instructions and leaves the room so that he
enjoys normal perception (like us) and could act as we do. Will he be able to understand
Chinese? Why/why not?
No, even if Searle internalizes and memorizes all of the instructions and leaves the room to
experience the world as we do, he would still not understand Chinese. Searle’s argument
emphasizes that understanding a language is more than just the manipulation of symbols and
following instructions: genuine understanding requires a grasp of meaning and semantics, which
he claims is lacking in the manipulations of symbols.
(a) How does Nagel define consciousness?
Negal defines consciousness as a subjective, first person experience of being aware of one's
own mental states and sensations. Negal emphasizes that consciousness involves what it is like
to be a specific conscious being.
(b) What does he think the relation between consciousness and one’s point of view is? Why
does he believe that?
Negal believes that consciousness is connected to an individual's point of view as it originates
from one's subjective experience and perception. He argues that understanding the subjective
nature of consciousness is crucial because an objective third-person perspective cannot capture
what it is like to experience a first person understanding like “being a bat” .
(c) Why does he believe that consciousness could not be explained in physical terms?
Negal believes that consciousness can not be explained in physical terms because subjective
experiences, such as what it is like to perceive color and taste, are inherently private and
subjective. While describing brain states and neural processes helps gain knowledge, it falls
short of fully understanding the subjective nature of consciousness.
(d) Is his anti-physicalist argument successful? Why/Why not?
Neglas’s anti-physicalist argument is successful because
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