Consciousness

8 full pgs, 2200 words;
WORK CITED PG IS NOT PART OF TERM PAPER

State as clearly as possible the problem or issue to be discussed and why it is important.

Puzzles, dilemmas, and thought experiments can introduce a topic as well as help advance a particular argument.

Carefully set out the various positions and objections that are associated with your thesis.

Give short quotations to support your claims about the positions and arguments you are discussing. Avoid long quotations (i.e. >4 lines).

Critically assess the arguments that are given. Draw attention to points that seem controversial, or just hard to understand.

On the basis of the evidence for the different alternatives, make a compelling case for the answer you prefer (you may or may not agree with the authors you discuss).

Essays will be graded on the quality of the writing, analysis, research, and argument, not on the particular conclusion you reach.

TOPIC: Consciousness:

What is the Hard Problem? Evaluate Dennett and Churchland’s use of the analogy to vitalism in their responses to Chalmers. (See Chalmers, 1998, “Facing up to the problem of Consciousness,” in Shear (ed.)

Explaining consciousness: The hard problem; Churchland’s book pp.171-8, Dennett: “Facing backwards on the problem of consciousness” <https://www.imprint.co.uk/online/HP_dennett.html>.