For this week’s discussion forum you will need to do two things. First, you must post a substantive response to any one (or more) of the open-answer questions provided below by Thursday, midnight, of this week (week 5). Second, you must provide critical feedback to at least two of your peers by Sunday, midnight, of this week.

Questions:

(1) What is the hard problem of consciousness? How hard is it?

(2) What is the ‘Mary’ problem against physicalism, and how effective is it?

(3) What are philosophical zombies, and what problem are they meant to pose for physicalism? How plausible is the zombie argument?

(4) Is conceivability a guide to (metaphysical) possibility? If not, why might this be important?

(5) What is direct realism, and how does it differ from indirect realism?

(6) What is the argument from illusion, and how is it used to motivate indirect realism over direct realism? Is it effective?

(7) What is disjunctivism, and how does it respond to the argument from illusion?

(8) What is the feeling account of emotions, and what problems does it face?

(9) What is the cognitive account of emotions, and what problems does it face?

(10) What is the problem of fiction, and how do you think one should respond to it?

(11) Are emotions ever rational?