- Tags:
- Show more
- Pages:
- 1
- Words:
- 275
From your reading of Hasker, and using the categories he uses, what view of the mind/body problem do you think is exhibited by Picard? By Maddox? Support your answer. Picard and Maddox have opposing views on the mind and body relationship. Picard holds the view that his robot friend Data should be treated and considered as a human being as they are capable of decision making just like we humans decide on various things that affect us (Star Trek). The command receiving and effecting computer in the robot does similar activities to that of the brain with regard to what is to be done and how it is to be done. According to him, the mind and the body are one, not separate. Except for the fact that the two have different body structures, everything in their thought and decision-making process should be treated as similar. Maddox, on the other hand, has an opposing view to that of Picard, the major reason why they are not always on good terms. According to him, the mind and body have a dualistic nature, i.e., they are two different parts capable of operating on their own. We, therefore, have a mind and a brain. The dualistic theory holds that the mind has mental properties, i.e., it can imagine, think and perceive but has no mass, shape or size. The body, on the other hand, has physical properties of mass, shape, and size but lacks mental properties such as pain perception. According to him, we can’t, therefore, compare man to a robot as we have both a brain and a mind, unlike the robot which only has a brain. Maddox lists three criteria for a being to be sentient: intelligence, self-awareness, and consciousness. Are these adequate? Can you think of other properties or
Leave feedback