PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

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THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Each student will be randomly assigned two thought experiments to respond to and answer. Responses are to be typed and 1-page in length. They should have the following formats:

FORMAT #1

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Thought Experiment #1-5 (1st assignment)

Your Name

1. I think the answer to the thought experiment question is S is P.

2. I think this is the answer because:

P1--M is P.

P2--S is M.

So--S is P

3. I think the first premise is true because (explain why it is true)

4. I think the second premise is true because (explain why it is true)

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FORMAT #2

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Thought Experiment #6-10 (2nd assignment)

Your Name

1. I think the answer to the thought experiment question is S is P.

2. I think this is the answer because:

P1--M is P.

P2--S is M.

So--S is P

3. I think the first premise is true because (explain why it is true)

P3—A is P.

P4—M is A.

So—M is P.

4. I think the second premise is true because (explain why it is true)

P5—B is M.

P6—S is B.

So—S is M.

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FOOD AND THE HUMAN PERSON
WRITING ASSIGNMENT

Name_______________________________________________

There is an old adage that says, “ You are what you eat.”  In other words, “I am what I eat.” or “I am my food.”  Given our focus on the ontology of the human person consider the following argument:

                                   #1:      P1—My food is my body.

                                                P2—I am my food.
                                                _________________________
                                                C1—So, I am my body.

            Now, think about why each premise might be true.

            Formulate an argument in support of each premise:

Premise #1 is true because:

                        #2:      P3—

                                    P4—
                                    _________________________________________     
                                    C2—So, my food is my body.

Premise #2 is true because:

                        #3:      P5—

                                    P6—
                                    _________________________________________     
                                    C3—So, I am my food.

Now, critically evaluate the main argument and the arguments in support of each premise.  1. Are they formally valid? 2. Are their premises true? 3. What do you think about the truth of C1?  4. Which of the main views of the human person we have considered would accept C1 and which would reject it—and 5. Why? (Feel free to use the back of this paper!)

1. #1—Valid or Invalid; #2—Valid or Invalid; #3—Valid or Invalid

2. P1—T or F; P2—T or F; P3—T or F; P4—T or F; P5—T or F; P6—T or F

3. C1—T or F ; C2—T or F; C3—T or F

4. Accept:                                                                  Reject:

a. Materialism—Yes or No                                        a. Materialism—Yes or No

b. Dualism—Yes or No                                              b. Dualism—Yes or No

c. Hylemorphism—Yes or No                                   c. Hylemorphism—Yes or No

d. Idealism—Yes or No                                             d. Idealism—Yes or No

e. Non-Essentialism—Yes or No                              e. Non-Essentialism—Yes or No

5. Why?                                                                      Why?

a. Materialism                                                            a. Materialism

b. Dualism                                                                  b. Dualism

c. Hylemorphism                                                       c. Hylemorphism

d. Idealism                                                                 d. Idealism

e. Non-Essentialism                                                   e. Non-Essentialism