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A-level Philosophy Study Group 2022

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Original post by LovingLucy
It was how Kant ignores other motives

Thanks so much!!!
Original post by SolsticeSerpent
have they asked about functionalism recently?


Yes as the 25 marker in 2020 paper 2. Its either behaviourism or property dualism this yr
Original post by anonymousKGE
philosophy paper 1 2022
epistomology
3- difference (as in define these things) between necessary and contingent truths
5- reliabilist account on knowledge
5- hallucinations as an issue for DR (direct realism)
12- IR (indirect realism) and Berkeley's objection to it
25- Is Descartes' rational intuition and deduction thesis successful?

moral philosophy
3- kant's definition of hypothetical imperatives
5- aristotle's skills analogy
5- Kant ignoring the role of certain motives
12- hedonic utilitarianism and the objection it ignores the moral integrity of the individual
25- is anti realism the correct metaethical view?

i really liked this paper, even though I hate philosophy loll


thank you so much!
Original post by anonymousKGE
Yes as the 25 marker in 2020 paper 2. Its either behaviourism or property dualism this yr


has substance dualism come up
EDIT - just realised it isnt on the advanced, my bad sorry everyone. panic over.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by queenofstressing
has substance dualism come up
EDIT - just realised it isnt on the advanced, my bad sorry everyone. panic over.

living up to the username haha
Original post by queenofstressing
thank you so much!


no problem!! you are very welcome!!
how likely is property dualism for this years essay? I know dualism came up as the 2020 question but as substance dualism is off spec they may really want to test property dualism
I'm worried about the property dualism essay as there are so many criticisms and responses. You have the responses to both Mary's room / P zombies and then the three issues with epiphenomenalism on the spec and then additional issues with physical substances having non-physical properties. 100% would not be able to fit that all in to a 1hr essay
Original post by nazma5979
living up to the username haha

haha i literally started panicking and its not even on the advanced smhhh
Original post by ivywalkerrr
how likely is property dualism for this years essay? I know dualism came up as the 2020 question but as substance dualism is off spec they may really want to test property dualism


in my opinion, it is something you should be prepared for but i dont see it as really likely. they don't seem to be repeating questions yet and if there's already been a dualism related 25 mark question, I kind of think they may want to test something else.

that being said, they could totally ask a specific property dualism 25m if they wanted so be prepared regardless.

i dont know how the dualism q last year was worded, so i dont know how specific or not it was to substance dualism. personally, I'd say focus on behaviourism lots but do have something good prepared for property dualism too, they certainly could ask it as a 25m
does anyone have criticisms for aquinas first way
Original post by reeldn
does anyone have criticisms for aquinas first way


Humes objection to the causal principle. Possibility of an infinite series.
Can someone please explains Descartes cosmological argument
Original post by reeldn
Can someone please explains Descartes cosmological argument


Descartes forms his own argument for causation. He states that if he was the cause of his own experience he would have given himself all perfections, except he doesn’t have all perfections. This means he is not the cause of his own existence, so something else must have caused him to exist. He says that he has an idea of God and that a cause of an effect must have at least as much REALITY as the effect. So whatever caused him to exist must have either been the cause of its own existence or caused by something else. Descartes says there can’t be an infinite chain of causes, so there must be something that caused its own existence - that being is God.
For metaphysics of mind, on the advance info under 'dualist theories', it just says property dualism - so my question is, under the dualist theories spec heading, are people going to just revise property dualism (in case of a 25 marker etc) or is it advisable to revise 'issues facing dualism' (so including 'problem of other minds' responses, and 'dualism makes a category mistake'), 'issues facing interactionist dualism', and 'issues facing epiphenomenalist dualism'? I'm unsure whether to revise these issues, as I interpreted the advanced info to just refer to property dualism (and for a potential 25 marker on property dualism, you'd talk about PZ, knowledge/Mary argument etc). Any insight on this is appreciated.
What would you write for this 5 marker?

Explain dualist arguments against philosophical behaviourism
Original post by anon2948
For metaphysics of mind, on the advance info under 'dualist theories', it just says property dualism - so my question is, under the dualist theories spec heading, are people going to just revise property dualism (in case of a 25 marker etc) or is it advisable to revise 'issues facing dualism' (so including 'problem of other minds' responses, and 'dualism makes a category mistake'), 'issues facing interactionist dualism', and 'issues facing epiphenomenalist dualism'? I'm unsure whether to revise these issues, as I interpreted the advanced info to just refer to property dualism (and for a potential 25 marker on property dualism, you'd talk about PZ, knowledge/Mary argument etc). Any insight on this is appreciated.

I thinks its better to focus mainly on PZ and Mary args and their specific crits but I'm sure if you included a "issues with dualism" crit in a 25 marker you would get credit, but I don't think you should look at epiphenomenalist dualism since I don't think they can ask an explicit question on it. Also, the 25 marker last year was on dualism so idk how likely it is they will ask another one this year ?
Original post by Bleepbloopblap
What would you write for this 5 marker?

Explain dualist arguments against philosophical behaviourism


I think its quite open so you could write abt like (for example) how the PZ arg and Mary both try to show that physicalism is wrong, so since behaviourism is physicalist it is also wrong. Or you can talk about how behaviourism can't account for introspection i think
Original post by Bleepbloopblap
What would you write for this 5 marker?

Explain dualist arguments against philosophical behaviourism

I would talk about interaction and introspection. I think this is a bit long for a 5 tho

Dualism can account for the way in our bodies causally react with our mind. For example it seems to follow that when I an hungry, I get up and make myself a sandwich. I am not merely altering my behaviour but I am doing so with intent so that I wont feel hungry anymore. But if mental states are just behaviour then we cannot explain this interaction without circularity. We would be explaining behaviour in terms of behaviour

Behaviourism also fails to account for the introspection that allows for self knowledge. I do not need to examine my own behaviour to know that I am experiencing a tooth ache. Knowledge of my own mind is immediate and apparent to myself through introspection. But if mental states are merely behavioural acts then it would follow that other people have a better understanding of what I am thinking or feeling than me because they have a better understanding of my brain. I would be constantly needing to consult others about my own mind. So this links to the asymmetry issue; while I need to observe the behaviour of others to know what they are thinking or feeling, knowledge of my own mental states is immediate and infallible.
(edited 1 year ago)
Hi just wondering if it would be ok to answer a 5 mark 'outline [argument]' question with the formal, step by step argument or if it needs to be presented in prose?

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