Lecture 1

Question 1

Outline the free will or machine debate

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Answer 1

Do we have free will or are we just a machine?

1. We are surrounded by physical stimuli (things that stimulate) that hit us
   - For instance: light waves, sight doesnt hit us, lifht does
2. We use our sensory equipment to gather a sense of what is around you
3. Something happens in our brains that turn that sensory information into action

Physical stimuli are received, analysed and acted upon
- Do we have free will in this process or is it just automatic and physical?

Question 2

Outline the body in the world as a 5 step process

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Answer 2

You can argue that the body in the world is a 5 step process

1. Physical stimuli - gravity, light, sound waves
2. Receptors - senses - all over body
3. Analysis - receptors send info to brain, which deals with this info
4. Decision - concious/ unconcious - body does some stuff involuntary, most stuff in response to stimuli is out of our control
5. Action - enact that decision

Question 3

When are we first exposed to physical stimuli?

Answer 3

At conception
- starts the process, we end up being a fully sentient being

• Sperm + Egg = conception of fertilised egg - which starts to subdivide

We are immediately surrounded by physical stimuli
e.g. amniotic fluid
but also sounds from outside

Question 4

Outline how structures being to emerge after conception

Answer 4

• Structural change is brought about by the intergration and seperation of these cells

At 3 months - recognisable as a tiny baby

1. Starts to show input-output relationship
   - inserting a probe and touching the foetus’ mouth makes it suck. Shows an inbuilt reaction to physical stimuli - evolutionary benefit to eat something close to your mouth

At 7 months - viable

2. Now has some full reflexes, e.g. swallowing
   - still just sat in a bath of chemicals, not really engaging in outside world, unless you probe/ prod it

Question 5

How much is hard wired?

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Answer 5

Scientists have been exploring this since the 1880s
- as the embryo has some brain function when in the uterus - how much is hard wired? How much of the brain is tied to a function?
•E.g. if you stimulate olfactory bulb = experience smell
•E.g. stimulating certain part of hypothalamus can = induce sleep or other parts can induce eating

Question 6

In the 5 step process, where can things go wrong?

• what can go wrong at each stage:
• *** hard

Answer 6

1. Physical stimuli - nothing for the sake of this
2. Receptors - can have sensory problems, e.g. blind, deaf, chronic pain. Can be mild (short sightedness) or severe - blind
3. Analysis - processing info might go wrong
   - could be coming in fine, but not making sense of it
   - or making sense of it, but not in a way that society would see is normal - can be seen as delusional/ insance
   - Can have conceptual and affective problems, e.g. learning disability, mental disorder etc
4. Decisions
   - Could be: Psychogenetic’s - mental illness due to psychological, not physiological factors.
   - Or could be something physically wrong with brain
   - legal implications - are they still guilty if they did it due to brain lesions?
5. Action
   - production problems, e.g. aphasia
   - inability to express yourself
   - usually only a problem to the individual

Question 7

Outline free will vs machine - physical or psychological

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Answer 7

Are we:
1. A physical system - like a hoover - push button it comes on, it doesnt decide wheter to come on or not, it just does
- if we can specify all the steps between physical stimuli coming in and action going out, surely this is a physical system too?
X - if it is just a physical system, and everything that is ‘mental’ is just physical, then surely we can treat mental disorders with physical treatments

2. Do we have free will autonomy
   - when a photon hits your eye, your eye responds
   - but we have free will dont we?