Is there a line which it is no longer OK to keep arguing with a professor? A little background:
On an online discussion board for a class, I'm having an argument with a professor about eliminative materialism. He says that it is "obvious" that beliefs, thoughts, desires exist and that eliminative materialism isn't targeting those. On the other hand, I am pretty certain that these notions are exactly what Churchland, Dennett, etc. are seeking to "eliminate" from our ontology.
My question is actually a bit more general: I've gone back and forth a few times, and he said this: "I don't mean to be insulting. But there seem to be a number of you who insist that the success of science forces us to be physicalists. To insist on that seems, to your instructor, to reveal a lack of understanding of what you are reading." He's generally a pretty laid back professor, and I don't think he's the kind of person to let it affect his judgment of my work, but is it wise to keep going? Just looking for some general advice if anyone has encountered the same kind of problem.
