Joe Lau's wiki: Courses/2009a PHI L2230paper

About the term paper

• Two deadlines :
  • 5pm Tue 1 Dec 2009. Detailed comments will be given (your essay and the comments will be returned to you in Jan 2010).
  • 5pm Wed 23 Dec 2009. (Note the new date.) Only very brief comments will be given. (No penalty for taking this deadline.)
• You must submit a copy online to http://turnitin.com (to check for plagiarism), and a PRINTED VERSION to Loletta in the Philosophy Dept general office.
  • class id - 2860280; password - 2230letmein
• NO late paper will be accepted.
• Make sure you read these guidelines. You will be penalized for not following them.
• Length of paper: around 15-20 pages (double-spacing, times roman font size 11/12).
• If you want, you can email the course tutor a draft on or before 22 Nov, and we shall try to give you some comments before you submit on 1 Dec.

Essay topics

Write on one of these four questions.

1. Explain Ned Block (1981)'s defense of psychologism, and Hanoch Ben-Yami (2005)'s response in "Behaviorism and Psychologism". Do you agree with Ben-Yami's criticisms of Block? Why or why not?
2. What is change blindness and what is it supposed to show about visual consciousness? According to Block (2007), what is the significance of Landman et al's experiment? Does Tye (2009) agree with Block's position? What is your own assessment of their discussion?
3. Does moral psychology undermine commonsense morality and our moral intuitions? Discuss with reference to Appiah's Experiments in Ethics. (See also http://experimentalphilosophy.typepad.com/experimental_philosophy/2008/07/the-bleak-impli.html)
4. What should be the role of the government when it comes to cognitive enhancements? Should it be limited to the prevention of harm? (If you answer this question you should avoid just repeating the contents of the lecture.)