APELC Class Notes
Third and fourth periods, it was a slim last day with so many seniors out and getting ready to graduate tonight, but we enjoyed the last of Star Trek: The Motion Picture which presented us a couple of other essential, existential questions when the character of Ilia, now a machine with the Lieutenant’s schemata intact, was returned to the Enterprise as V’ger’s representative and data-gathering device.
The first question was “What is the connection between mind and body?” And further, “Is mind merely a product of biological and electro-chemical processes in the material body, or is it immaterial, separate from the body, and potentially capable of existence on its own?” This is called the mind-body problem and is informed by dualism, materialism, and idealism.
The second question, closely related to the first, was “What makes a ‘person’?” Are we only matter, or are we more? This question has to do with consciousness and identity.
That was it for today. We are at an end, but I’ll offer some final reflections before I leave for Europe next week. Until then, I hope to see you at graduation tonight where we’ll celebrate your peers’ accomplishments.