Instructor Contact Information

Name: Denis Robinson
Phone number: 021 20 30 847
University email: dj.robinson@auckland.ac.nz

Office: Arts 1, Room 419
Office Hour: Thursdays, 2:15 - 3 pm.

Lecture Times and Location:
Thursdays 12 - 2 (starting on July 27). 
STARTING FROM AUGUST 10, THE LECTURES WILL BE HELD IN ROOM 206-209
(ARTS 1 BUILDING, LEVEL 2, ROOM 209).

Discussion Group Times and Location:
Fridays (starting on August 4).
PHIL 320: Fridays, 12 - 1. Room 104-G07 (Old Choral Hall, Room G07).
PHIL 200: Fridays, 2 - 3. Room 114-G14 (Commerce Building A, Room G14).

Tuakana Mentoring: Philosophy: Nathan Rew
e-mail:  nrew454@aucklanduni.ac.nz

 

FIRST LECTURING WEEK		Lecture:
Thursday July 27	Philosophy of Mind and Analytic Philosophy. Kinds of Mental States and Processes. Dualisms and Physicalisms. (Not much covered due to power failure!)			1
SECOND LECTURING WEEK
Thursday August 3	Philosophy of Mind and Analytic Philosophy. Kinds of Mental States and Processes. Dualisms and Physicalisms. Lecture Recording for August 3: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/668112/d8db1c/201708031200.LT347936.preview Lecture Recording for August 3: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/668112/d8db1c/201708031200.LT347936.mp3			2
THIRD LECTURING WEEK
Thursday August 10	More on Dualism, kinds of Dualism, and Reasons in Favour of Dualism Lecture Recording for August 10: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/678816/ee52e9/201708101200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for August 10: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/678816/ee52e9/201708101200.LT347610.mp3			3
FOURTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday August 17	More on Reasons for Dualism; Problems for Dualism. Lecture Recording for August 17: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/688406/edecd5/201708171200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for August 17: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/688406/edecd5/201708171200.LT347610.mp3			4
FIFTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday August 24	More on Problems for Dualism; Causal Closure of the Physical; Kinds of Physicalism Lecture Recording for August 24: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/697793/6659b6/201708241200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for August 24: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/697793/6659b6/201708241200.LT347610.mp3			5
SIXTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday August 31	More on Causal Closure of the Physical; Empirical Reasons for Physicalism Lecture Recording for August 31: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/707222/bb2c69/201708311200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for August 31: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/707222/bb2c69/201708311200.LT347610.mp3			6
First Essay Due: Before midnight, Monday September 4. MID-SEMESTER BREAK (REVISION, READING, ESSAY-WRITING)  —  September 4 - 15
SEVENTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday September 21	More detail on "What is Physicalism?".  Introduction to Behaviourism. Lecture Recording for September 21: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/719415/462a56/201709211200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for August 31: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/719415/462a56/201709211200.LT347610.mp3			7
EIGHTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday September 28	Behaviourism's Strengths and Weaknesses. Lessons from Behaviourism. Causal Theory of Mind. Lecture Recording for September 28: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/728008/af342f/201709281200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for September 28: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/728008/af342f/201709281200.LT347610.mp3			8
NINTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday October 5	Causal Theory of Mind; Introduction to Functionalism. Analytic Functionalism, Functionalism and the Identity Theory;  Lecture Recording for October 5: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/737671/fd58b4/201710051200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for October 5: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/737671/fd58b4/201710051200.LT347610.mp3			9
TENTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday October 12	Analytic Functionalism and Identity Theory. Topic-Neutral Analysis Lecture Recording for October 12: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/edit?2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/746930/edc1f4/201710121200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for October 12: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/746930/edc1f4/201710121200.LT347610.mp3		10
ELEVENTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday October 19	More on Important aspects of Functionalism Lecture Recording for October 19: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/756381/b99cb9/201710191200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for October 19: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/756381/b99cb9/201710191200.LT347610.mp3 Second Essay Due: Before Midnight, Sunday October 22.		11
TWELFTH LECTURING WEEK
Thursday October 26	Qualia-Based Problems for Functionalism. Lecture Recording for October 26: Link for Streaming https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/765625/faeac4/201710261200.LT347610.preview Lecture Recording for October 26: Link for Downloading https://mediastore.auckland.ac.nz/2017/1175/PHIL200L01C/765625/faeac4/201710261200.LT347610.mp3		12

 

Some Basic Information about Philosophy of Mind,
Textbook and Coursebook, and specially ASSESSMENT.
(Philosophy 200 and 320, 2017)

Further information about many detailed matters (for instance, procedures for submission and return of essays) will be issued by way of FURTHER announcements using Canvas, due course. Stay alert for Announcements!

 

DISCUSSION GROUPS:

Discussion Groups exist so that students may collectively check their understanding (and possible misunderstandings) of the course material, and actively engage with the problems discussed in the course. In Philosophy you must get used to putting your mind in gear rather than merely taking notes and learning things by rote. The Discussion Groups are an integral part of the course and students MUST attend them. Try to actually participate in the discussion, or at least try to follow it and gain a sense of the different points of view and their strengths and weaknesses.

Philosophy is a distinctive and unusual subject, where it is particularly useful to hear the work discussed and debated. Why waste chances to learn? Without Discussion Group attendance your learning-curve will be steeper and you will learn (and understand) less.

COURSEBOOK:

The Coursebook will be available from the University Bookshop and it contains essential course readings.

These readings will also be available on Canvas (in Canvas, go to Files), but for the sake of having them in hard copy, you should buy the Coursebook. That will make it easier to highlight passages, write notes or comments, and flip back to check things. Remember we want you to read the Coursebook items repeatedly so that you are thoroughly familiar with them ... and so that you absorb the ideas, terminology and concepts fully. Keep the Coursebook in your bag and pull it out when you have spare time. Discuss the ideas you find in these materials with other students (in this or other courses ... or with non-students!).

Further readings which are published and copyright (so we cannot put them in the Coursebook), will be available via the Library’s Talis system (by way of Canvas, to which Talis is linked). We will give you a list of Essential Published Readings. In Canvas, you will be able to go to the Reading List link to get access to them.

Contacting Lecturer:

If you need to see me to discuss some matter, and cannot attend at the Office Hours time (to be announced) you will need to make an appointment to see me at another time.

Do NOT try to do this at or just after (or just before!) a lecture or Discussion Group! You should phone me or email me to make an appointment. If possible suggest some times (more than one!) which might suit you. Email is the preferred method (or you can hand me a written note after a class). Either way, make sure you leave clear information for how I can get back to you (phone numbers are helpful, but email address will do). Please try to give me some notice when possible.

TEXTBOOK:

David Braddon-Mitchell and Frank Jackson: Philosophy of Mind and Cognition (2^nd. Edition, Blackwell, 2007).

COURSE READINGS AND RECOMMENDED READINGS:

Buy the textbook!! – as well as the Coursebook. Further readings will be made available on Canvas (in Canvas, go to Reading Lists) – more readings may be recommended later in the semester. These are likely to include extra slides. You will be notified when this happens.

Please familiarize yourself with the specified readings and come to Lectures and Discussion Groups prepared to discuss them. That means, you should read the relevant materials BEFORE the corresponding classes. Maybe that is not what you usually do, or what others do. Forget about that. The single best piece of advice I have if you wish to succeed in this course, is to read the reading materials in advance, then re-read them again after they are discussed in class. When you write your essays, read the relevant materials again, and also when preparing for the examinations.

ASSESSMENT:

Essays are compulsory! (If you don’t submit an essay, you will simply lose the corresponding marks.) Word count for essays is required to be between 5% below and 10% specified length.

PHIL 200 Assessment:

A final 2-HOUR exam worth 60%, and two essays.

The first essay (due Monday, September 4) of 1000 words and worth 15%; the second essay (due Monday October 9) of 1500 words, and worth 25%. Both essays must be completed (loss of full mark for each essay unsubmitted).

PHIL 320 Assessment:

A final 3-HOUR exam worth 60%, and two essays.

The first essay (due Monday, September 4) of 1200 words, and worth 15%; the second essay (due Monday, October 9) of 1800 words, and worth 25%. Both essays must be completed (loss of full mark for each unsubmitted essay).

Note about lengths of essays. The essays are longer (as is the exam) for Stage Three students (those in PHIL 320). Also (and this may be different from what you are used to): the first essay is shorter, and the second essay is one and half times as long as the first. The second essay is worth one and two-thirds the marks of the first essay! What’s the idea behind this? Some students find it hard to know how to approach Philosophy essays, due to the differences between what is required in Philosophy as opposed to many other Arts or Humanities subjects. You are given a longer second essay, with more marks at stake, to give you a better chance of benefiting from your learning as the course progresses, and specially from the feedback you receive on the first essay. When you get your essays back, make sure you read, understand, and absorb any comments you receive. They may help you get (even) better grades in the following essay, or the exam.

Word count for essays must be between 5% below and 10% above specified length.

Policy on essay extensions:

To hand in a late essay without penalty, you will need an extension from the Lecturer. NO late essay will be accepted without penalty, unless a good and certified reason (such as a medical certificate) is given. Extensions are rarely given on other than medical grounds! (You are free to request extensions on other grounds, but they may not be granted. Avoid requesting extensions on the grounds that you also have other essays due at a similar date. Plan your time management well in advance, to take account of such matters.) Whenever possible, you should apply for an extension before the due date for the essay.

You may hand in a late essay without an extension, but you will receive a penalty. Essays without extensions that are more than two weeks late are marked zero. If it is less than one week late, the penalty is 5% of available mark (one-third of a letter-grade, e.g. a reduction from A to A-, or from B- to C+); if it is more than one week and less than two weeks late, the penalty is 10% of available mark (two-thirds of a letter-grade, e.g. a reduction from A- to B or from B to C+).

 

Further Important Information Will Appear Here Later