PHIL 336 JOURNAL ENTRY
1
Write about one or more of these prompts for your journal entry this week.
· Does Dualism “make sense” to me? Why?
· If Dualism is true, what does that mean about reality
· If Dualism is not true, what does that mean about reality?
· If Dualism is true, what exactly is knowledge?
· If Dualism is not true, what exactly is knowledge?
Technical Requirements of the Journal Entry:
· Microsoft .docx (not .pages or .pdf)
· Double Spaced, 12 pt. Times new Roman Font, 1" Left and Right Margins
· Minimum 500 words
EXAMPLE OF JOURNAL ENTRY
I seem to belong to a highly judgmental species, and it is hard to refrain from judging and evaluating, praising and blaming. All around me, people are rating, reviewing, giving stars, thumbs up and down to films, hotels, household appliances, and life events. They write restaurant reviews that say ‘The fish was underdone and the staff were rude,’ as though the fish and the staff actually had those qualities, and they expect others to make use of the ‘information.’ They gossip about one another’s personal lives and decisions, admiring and disapproving of their friends’ actions. Human beings slap fines on one another and cart others of their species off to jail. They also award them medals, badges, and diplomas for achievements deemed meritorious. I find myself constantly judging my food and drink for its tastiness and value for money. I cannot seem to help judging some kinds of people for what I take to be their moral qualities, as well as for their non-moral qualities of being politically savvy or hilarious, or displaying athletic prowess or artistic ability.
Supplemental Online Readings
(1) Robinson, Howard, "Dualism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2020)
A short but informative introduction to the mind-body problem, the history of dualism, and the arguments for dualism including substance dualism property dualism, and parallelism, among others.
Supplemental Online Audio/Video
(1) “Where Does Your Mind Reside?: Crash Course Philosophy #22.” YouTube, uploaded by CrashCourse, Aug. 1, 2016. [9:06] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SJROTXnmus&t=4s&ab_channel=CrashCourse
Hank Green’s informative video discussing the mind-body problem in philosophy, including Cartesian dualism as well as some modern physicalist theories.
(2) "PHILOSOPHY - Mind: Mind-Body Dualism [HD]." YouTube, uploaded by Wireless Philosophy, Sep. 19, 2014. [8:24] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMTMtWHclKo&ab_channel=WirelessPhilosophy
Uzgalis, William, "Some Issues in Locke's Philosophy of Mind." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. plato.stanford.edu (2018)
Locke developed a Philosophy of Mind similar to substance dualism.
Locke also developed a philosophy of personal identity and of persons that was the foundation of much of his political philosophy.
(3) "PHILOSOPHY - History: Locke on Personal Identity #1." YouTube, uploaded by Wireless Philosophy, Aug. 29, 2014 [11:30] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=462Y898PVn8&ab_channel=WirelessPhilosophy