Casa ESL · C1 Advanced · Unit 4 of 20 · Step 1
Subjunctive in Formal English
Name
Date
Vocabulary
consciousness
nounThe state of being aware of and responsive to one's surroundings; the quality of subjective experience.
"The nature of consciousness remains one of philosophy's hardest problems."
dualism
nounThe philosophical theory that mind and body are two fundamentally distinct substances.
"Cartesian dualism posits a strict separation between mental and physical realms."
introspection
nounThe examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings.
"Introspection has been both championed and criticised as a method of psychological inquiry."
determinism
nounThe doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by prior causes.
"Hard determinism challenges the notion of genuine free will."
sentient
adjectiveAble to perceive or feel things; having the capacity for subjective experience.
"The question of whether artificial systems could become sentient is hotly debated."
paradox
nounA seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or situation that may nonetheless be true.
"The paradox of free will in a deterministic universe has occupied thinkers for centuries."
cognition
nounThe mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge and understanding.
"Research in cognition has revealed the limits of rational decision-making."
phenomenology
nounThe philosophical study of the structures of experience and consciousness.
"Phenomenology seeks to describe how things appear to consciousness without metaphysical assumptions."
Grammar Focus
Subjunctive in formal English
The subjunctive mood is used in formal English to express wishes, demands, suggestions, and hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations. Formulaic subjunctive: 'Were it not for X, Y would…', 'Should you require assistance, please…', 'Be that as it may, the argument holds.' The mandative subjunctive follows verbs like 'insist', 'recommend', 'demand': 'They insisted that he resign' (not 'resigns'). The subjunctive 'were' is used in formal conditionals regardless of subject: 'If I were to suggest…'
Were it not for the advances in neuroscience, this debate would remain purely philosophical.
Should you require further clarification, do not hesitate to contact the department.
Be that as it may, the empirical evidence does not support the theory.
The committee recommended that the proposal be reviewed before implementation.
Exercises
Exercise 1
Complete each sentence using the appropriate subjunctive form.
1. it not for Descartes, the mind-body problem might never have been formalised.
2. The board demanded that the researcher (submit) all data for independent review.
3. you wish to pursue this line of inquiry, the library holds extensive archives.
4. that as it may, the philosophical implications remain profound.
5. It is essential that every participant (be) fully informed of the risks.
Exercise 2
Choose the correct formal subjunctive form for each sentence.
1. The professor insisted that the student ___ the experiment.
2. ___ I to accept the dualist position, I would still struggle with the interaction problem.
3. It is vital that the distinction ___ clearly understood.
Reading
The Hard Problem of Consciousness
Were it not for the philosopher David Chalmers, the distinction between 'easy' and 'hard' problems of consciousness might never have gained such prominence. In his 1995 paper, Chalmers argued that while neuroscience could explain the mechanisms of perception, memory, and attention — the 'easy' problems — it had no adequate account of why subjective experience exists at all. Should one attempt to explain consciousness purely in terms of neural activity, one would be left with what Chalmers called an 'explanatory gap'. Be that as it may, many neuroscientists insist that the hard problem is not genuinely distinct from the easy problems and that a complete account of brain function would resolve the mystery. Dualists maintain that consciousness cannot be reduced to physical processes and demand that any theory of mind account for the qualitative nature of experience. Materialists counter that were dualism correct, it would be impossible to explain how mental states interact with the physical world. The debate remains unresolved. It is perhaps essential that we accept a degree of intellectual humility: consciousness may be a phenomenon that resists the kind of reductive explanation that has proved so successful in other areas of science.
1. What distinction did David Chalmers introduce, and why is it significant?
2. What objection do materialists raise against dualism, as presented in the passage?
Speaking
Discuss these questions with a partner or your teacher.
Writing
Write a formal paragraph (6–8 sentences) presenting your view on whether machines could ever be conscious. Use at least three subjunctive constructions.
Example: Were a machine to exhibit all the behavioural indicators of consciousness, it would remain an open question whether genuine subjective experience accompanied those behaviours. Be that as it may, the rapid advances in artificial intelligence demand that we consider this possibility seriously. Should it transpire that consciousness is a product of information processing rather than biological matter, then the implications for our understanding of personhood would be profound.
Answer Key — For Teacher Use
Exercise 1
1. Were · 2. submit · 3. Should · 4. Be · 5. be
Exercise 2
1. repeat · 2. Were · 3. be
Reading Comprehension
1. Chalmers distinguished between 'easy' problems (mechanisms of perception, memory, attention) and the 'hard' problem (why subjective experience exists at all). This highlighted that explaining brain function does not necessarily explain consciousness itself. · 2. Materialists argue that if dualism were correct, it would be impossible to explain how mental states interact with the physical world — the so-called interaction problem.