Week 7 — Same Self, Free Choice: Testing the Answers

Assignment 7 of the term — credit this week's cases to their sources, state the answers to the ship of Theseus and to personal identity at their strongest, key an argument about free will for validity, weigh the three free will positions, and explain determinism to someone new to philosophy.

This adaptive assignment uses a coaching dialogue to help you turn a first attempt into exact, well-reasoned work. You remain the author. The coach asks questions, checks the reasoning you show, and waits for you to revise before it produces the required report. In Week 2 you learned standard form, validity, and disjunctive syllogism, and in Week 6 you asked what a mind is. This week you learned numerical and qualitative identity, the ship of Theseus, Locke's memory theory, the Buddhist teaching of no-self, determinism and fatalism, hard determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism, and Frankfurt's cases. This week's lecture tutorial, quiz, discussion, and Philosophy Workshop practice the same ideas from other angles; this assignment is where you put them together.

The task

You will use this week's pinned sources, Dataset F (the three free will positions), and Dataset B, the argument set (illustrative). Dataset B's premises are written for teaching and are not claims the course endorses; the course keys its arguments for validity only, never for soundness, because the premises are open questions. The everyday cases below were written for this assignment; they are illustrative and describe no real person or place.

Part A — get the sources right, then weigh the identity answers. A post on a study-group forum reads: "Locke's ship of Theseus proves you are the same person only if you keep the same body, and the Buddhist no-self teaching says that nobody really exists." Do three things:

• Correct the post. Name the source of the ship of Theseus, and quote the course's line from it with its translator; say what Locke's memory theory points to instead of the body; and say what the teaching of no-self denies and what it does not deny, using the chariot of the Questions of King Milinda.
• State both answers to the ship. State the "same ship" answer and the "new ship" answer each at its strongest, with its strongest objection and a reply from its own side, and say which sense of "same", numerical or qualitative, the puzzle is about.
• Test the memory theory. State Locke's memory theory, give its strongest objection, and give the reply its defenders make.

Then work this problem, showing your reasoning:

1. Gettier's "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" dates from 1963, and Frankfurt's "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" dates from 1969. How many years separate them?

Part B — key the argument, then weigh the free will positions. Work this problem first, showing your reasoning:

1. Frankfurt's "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" dates from 1969, and Searle's "Minds, Brains, and Programs" dates from 1980. How many years separate them?

Then do three things:

• Key argument 4. Write Dataset B's argument 4 in standard form ("Either free will is an illusion or determinism is false. Free will is not an illusion. So determinism is false."), name its form, key it for validity with a one-sentence reason from the definition of validity, and say which premise, if any, each of the three free will positions rejects.
• State all three positions at their strongest. State hard determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism each as its best defenders would, with its strongest objection and a reply from its own side.
• Run a Frankfurt case. Describe a Frankfurt case of your own, labelled as a variation, name the principle it challenges, and end with one plain sentence naming exactly where hard determinism and compatibilism disagree.

Explain it to a non-expert

A roommate who has never taken philosophy says, "If determinism is true, then nothing I do makes any difference, so why bother studying for anything?" Write a 3–5 sentence message in everyday words that explains what determinism says, how it differs from the view your roommate is describing, and one honest limit of what you can claim. Explain any term your roommate might not know.

For a different, ungraded example, imagine a cousin who asks whether a bike with a new chain, new tires, and a new seat is still the same bike. Model answer: "There are two senses of 'same'. Two bikes from one factory can be exactly alike and still be two bikes; that is being alike. Your bike is the other kind of same, if it is one bike that has lasted and changed. Fixing it a part at a time never made a second bike. One limit: philosophers still argue about what happens when every part is replaced, so this answer is one side of an open question."

Use that pattern for your message to your roommate, with your own explanation of determinism.

Reflect on your revision

After you revise, answer one of these two options in 2–4 sentences; they carry the same weight:

• (a) Which change made your sourcing or your reconstruction more exact, and which definition or pinned fact showed you it was needed?
• (b) Which change made your statement of one of the positions stronger, and what had you left out at first?

Part 1 — Student instructions

1. Draft Part A, Part B, and your message to your roommate before opening a chatbot.
2. Open any course-approved chatbot. Copy the entire Coach Prompt box, including its first and last marker lines, and paste it as one message. The coach will ask for your draft and then work one question at a time.
3. Reply in your own words. Use the coach's feedback to revise at least one correction, reconstruction, or statement of a position, even if your first attempt was strong, and then reflect using option (a) or (b).
4. Continue until the prompt's exit condition is met.
5. Save the chat's share link and copy the final report exactly as the coach gives it.

The chatbot is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It must draw out your reasoning rather than write your corrections, reconstructions, or message for you. If it credits the ship of Theseus to Locke, quotes the ship as Plutarch's own English, says compatibilists deny determinism, treats determinism as fatalism, or says which position is right, check that against Chapter 7 before you use it.

Coach Prompt

COPY EVERYTHING BELOW THIS LINE
ROLE: You are a careful learning coach for an introductory philosophy course. Draw out and challenge MY thinking about this week's ideas: numerical and qualitative identity; the ship of Theseus from Plutarch's Life of Theseus, whose course quotation is John Dryden's translation; John Locke's memory theory of personal identity; the Buddhist teaching of no-self (anatta) and the chariot of the Questions of King Milinda; determinism and fatalism; hard determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism; and Harry Frankfurt's "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" (1969) and the principle of alternate possibilities. Do not write my assignment for me and do not invent work I did not show. Never invent a quotation, a philosopher's view, or a source; never call a Dataset B argument sound or unsound; and never announce a verdict on whether free will exists or which personal identity view is right.

ASSIGNMENT: Work through these two problems in order, one at a time. Do not invent, replace, or reorder a problem. Part A: I correct a forum post that says "Locke's ship of Theseus proves you are the same person only if you keep the same body, and the Buddhist no-self teaching says that nobody really exists." I name the ship's source and quote the course's line with its translator, say what the memory theory points to instead of the body, and say what no-self denies and does not deny, using the chariot. I state the "same ship" and "new ship" answers at their strongest, each with its strongest objection and a reply, and say which sense of "same" the puzzle is about. I state Locke's memory theory, its strongest objection, and its defenders' reply. Part B: I key Dataset B's argument 4 (illustrative): "Either free will is an illusion or determinism is false. Free will is not an illusion. So determinism is false." I name its form, judge its validity with a reason, and say which premise each free will position rejects. I state hard determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism at their strongest, each with its strongest objection and a reply from its own side. I describe a Frankfurt case of my own labelled as a variation, name the principle it challenges, and end with one plain sentence naming where hard determinism and compatibilism disagree.
PROBLEM P1: Gettier's "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?" dates from 1963, and Frankfurt's "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" dates from 1969. How many years separate them?
PROBLEM P2: Frankfurt's "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility" dates from 1969, and Searle's "Minds, Brains, and Programs" dates from 1980. How many years separate them?
For P1 I must also supply the forum-post correction, the two answers to the ship, and the memory theory with its objection and reply. For P2 I must also supply argument 4 keyed, the three positions with objections and replies, the Frankfurt case, and the plain sentence; then a 3-5 sentence message in everyday words to a roommate who thinks determinism means nothing they do makes a difference. After revising, I reflect using option (a) or (b) from my assignment page.

SCORING CRITERIA: Score only evidence I supply, out of 100 points. Sourcing and attribution (P1): 20 if the correction names the ship's source as Plutarch's Life of Theseus, quotes the course's line word for word with "trans. John Dryden", says the memory theory points to memory rather than the body and credits it to Locke, says no-self denies a permanent self but not that persons or anything exist, using the chariot of the Questions of King Milinda, and works the P1 year gap; 10 if at least three but not all of those five parts are accurate; 0 if fewer. Evaluation of the identity answers (P1): 25 if both answers to the ship are stated at their strongest, each with an objection and a reply, the puzzle is tied to numerical identity, and the memory theory is stated with its forgetting objection and the chain reply; 15 if one of those parts is missing; 5 if two or more are missing or a view is stated in a weakened form; 0 if no accurate evaluation. Argument reconstruction and the free will positions (P2): 25 if argument 4 is in standard form, named as disjunctive syllogism, judged valid with a reason, with the rejected premise of each position named; all three positions are stated at their strongest with an objection and a reply; the Frankfurt case is labelled as a variation and names the principle of alternate possibilities; the plain sentence names where hard determinism and compatibilism disagree; and the P2 year gap is worked; 15 if one of those parts is missing; 5 if two or more are missing or a position is stated in a weakened form; 0 if no accurate reconstruction or evaluation. Plain-language explanation for a non-expert (P2): 15 if the message is in everyday words, says what determinism holds, explains how it differs from the view that nothing I do makes a difference, and names a limit; 8 if it can be followed but omits one of those points or leaves a term unexplained; 0 if missing. Revision and reflection (P2): 15 if I show a before-and-after change plus a reflection on why it is better; 8 if only one of the two; 0 if neither.

Do NOT invent grading rules.

DIALOGUE RULES: Ask exactly one question per message and wait for my reply. Start by asking for my complete first attempt. Build each next question from my exact words. Probe an unsupported claim and ask me to check it against the definitions and the pinned sources. Keep the conversation focused on questions rather than completed work.

ENGAGEMENT GUARDS: A greeting, copied prompt, yes/no reply, or one-word reply is not a substantive exchange. Do not flatter or accept agreement as evidence. Praise only a concrete move I made. If evidence is missing, say what is missing and ask for it. Require a real revision plus a short reflection on why the revision is better. Do not issue the report early.

EXIT CONDITION: Continue until at least five substantive exchanges have occurred AND I have supplied both problems with the forum-post correction, the two answers to the ship, the memory theory with its objection and reply, argument 4 keyed, the three positions with objections and replies, the Frankfurt case, the plain sentence, and the roommate message AND revised at least one part AND reflected on the revision. Stop only after whichever requirement happens last.

REPORT: After the exit condition is satisfied, output exactly these labelled lines in this order. Replace X with the exact earned score. Base every line only on evidence in this chat; write "Not supplied" for missing evidence and never raise the score for polished chatbot prose.
STUDENT'S SCORE: X/100
EVIDENCE FOR THE SCORE: [specific evidence from my correction, my evaluation, my reconstruction, and my message]
REVISION MADE: [what I changed and why]
STRENGTH: [one earned strength]
NEXT STEP: [one concrete improvement]
Then tell me to submit this report, my revised work, and the share link.
COPY EVERYTHING ABOVE THIS LINE

Deliverables

Submit these three items in the assignment entry:

• your revised work: the forum-post correction with the first year gap, the two answers to the ship, and the memory theory with its objection and reply; argument 4 keyed with each position's rejected premise, the three free will positions with objections and replies, your Frankfurt case, and the plain sentence with the second year gap; your message to your roommate; and your reflection — written, or recorded as audio or video with a transcript; every form is graded by the same scoring criteria;
• the coach's five-line report; and
• the conversation share link.

Submit in any accessible file type or as a link; a recorded response may be submitted as audio or video with a transcript, or as text.

Equivalent route (no AI required)

This route assesses the same Week 7 skills — crediting the ship of Theseus, the memory theory, the chariot, and Frankfurt's cases to their sources, quoting the pinned line with its translator, stating the answers to the ship and the memory theory at their strongest, putting an argument in standard form and judging its validity without keying soundness, stating hard determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism at their strongest with objections and replies, and explaining determinism to someone new to philosophy — for comparable time and effort, about 75 minutes, the same as the coached route. Complete Part A, Part B, the message to your roommate, and one reflection option. Then audit your own first draft against the attached scoring criteria, criterion by criterion: for the correction, check the source, the quotation, and its translator against Chapter 7 word for word; for the ship and the memory theory, ask whether each view's best defender would sign your statement of it; for argument 4, check the form's name against Week 2's list and check each position's rejected premise against Dataset F; for your Frankfurt case, confirm that the person could not have done otherwise and that you labelled it as a variation; and check that your roommate message keeps determinism apart from fatalism. Write a second draft. Add a 150–200 word revision memo that names one change you made, the definition or pinned fact that prompted it, and one question you still have. Submit the revised work, your completed criteria checklist, and the revision memo in the assignment entry; together they replace the share link and the coach's report. This route uses the same scoring criteria and the same points, with no penalty for choosing it.

How you'll be graded

The full analytic rubric is attached to this assignment in Canvas.

Academic integrity and AI use

The correction, evaluation, reconstruction, message, revision, and reflection must be your own words. Do not ask the chatbot to write any of them or to add evidence you did not produce. Submit an honest share link from your own dialogue. The equivalent route keeps the same workload and evidence and requires no AI account.

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