Part 3 functionalism

Who is originally credited with coming up with the hypothetical of an "inverted spectrum"?

• Rene Descartes

• John Locke

• David Hume

• Immanuel Kant

What is the idea of an "inverted spectrum"?

• The inverted spectrum theory states that everyone sees colors the same way.
• The concept suggests that color perception is solely based on language.
• It refers to a spectrum of colors that is physically inverted in nature.
• The idea of an 'inverted spectrum' suggests that two individuals could have different color perceptions while still communicating indistinguishably about colors.

How might the inverted spectrum be used as an objection to functionalism?

• The inverted spectrum supports functionalism by demonstrating uniform qualitative experiences.
• The inverted spectrum challenges functionalism by showing that identical functions can correspond to different qualitative experiences.
• Functionalism argues that qualitative experiences are irrelevant to mental states.
• The inverted spectrum shows that different functions can lead to the same qualitative experience.

What objection to the inverted spectrum does the textbook offer on behalf of functionalism?

• That John Locke actually accepted functionalism

• That functionalism has the strength of being multiply realisable

• That the inverted spectrum wasn't empirically verifiable and therefore seemed nonsensical

• That science had disproven the possibility of inverted spectrums

In what way did the textbook (criticising functionalism) suggest that actually the inverted spectrum was empirically verifiable?

• We could do an refraction experiment in physics to verify it

• We could conduct an eye operation on someone to alter the visual qualia they experience

• We could use a brain scan to view different qualia perceptions in different brains

• We could ask people to describe how colours look and cross-reference answers

Which of these would a functionalist need to be true to be able to give an account of the eye operation?

• The eye operation DOES involve a functional change (input, processing, output)

• The eye operation DOES NOT involve a functional change (input, processing, output)

Which of these previously encountered thought experiments is used as an objection to functionalism in the textbook?

• Chalmers' philosophical zombies

• Mary's room (the knowledge argument)

• Hume's missing shade of blue

• Paley's watchmaker analogy

Which of these previously encountered responses to Mary's room does the textbook make primary use of with this functionalist variant of the argument?

• •1). Mary gains new acquaintance knowledge (but not propositional knowledge)

• •2). Mary gains new ability knowledge (but not propositional knowledge)

• •3). All physical knowledge would include knowledge of qualia

• •4). New knowledge/old facts response

The textbook suggests that Mary would know all the functional processes from her lab, so could work out the qualia there too. How did the textbook understand qualia on this functionalist objection to Mary's room?

• Qualia is an illusion

• Qualia is complete representation of all the functional processes in the body

• Qualia has nothing to do with functional processes

• Qualia is a short-cut representation of countless functional processes

As we've seen, the textbook suggests functionalists can make an objection to Mary's room that corresponds to "3). All physical knowledge would include knowledge of qualia". Which philosopher was it who previously recommended this objection to Mary's room?

• David Chalmers

• Frank Jackson

• Patricia Churchland

• John Searle