Course Syllabus
Course Outline:
Philosophy of mind aims to understand the nature of the mind and its place in the natural world. In this course, we will draw on recent advances in neuroscience and cognitive psychology, as well as contemporary philosophy of mind, to investigate topics such as consciousness, perception, thought, mental causation, mind-reading and the self.
We will aim to answer questions like, ‘What would make something, e.g. a brain or even an artificially intelligent robot, have a mind?’, ‘How and why does physical processing give rise to conscious experiences?’, ‘Does perception ever provide us with direct access to the external world?’, ‘Do we think in a language?’, How do I know whether animals, even other humans, have minds?’, and ‘What is the self?’
We will approach these topics using the tools of analytic philosophy, where students will learn how to formulate arguments with precision, and critically evaluate their premises by drawing on a mixture of philosophical and scientific theory.
Course Convener:
Dr. Raamy Majeed
Office hours: Tuesdays, 03:00-04:00pm or https://auckland.zoom.us/j/91324283057
Humanities Building (206), Room 419
Lectures: Tuesdays, 12-2pm, 206-209 (Humanities Building, Floor 2) or pre-recorded (see Files section).
PHIL200 Tutorials: Friday 1-2pm, 119-G10 (Clock Tower East Wing, Floor G) or https://auckland.zoom.us/j/96642160446
PHIL320 Tutorials: Fridays, 2-3pm, 421E-619 (Architecture, Floor 6) or https://auckland.zoom.us/j/95260771047
|
Well-being always comes first We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page, which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community. |
Schedule:
Week 1 (Intentionality)
Lecture: Tuesday 2nd March
*No tutorial this week*
Reading: Tim Crane, ‘Intentionality as the Mark of the Mental’
Week 2 (Physicalism)
Lecture: Tuesday 9th March
Tutorial: Friday 12th March
Reading: Alyssa Ney, ‘Defining Physicalism’
Week 3 (Perception)
Lecture: Tuesday 16th March
Tutorial: Friday 19th March
Reading: Adam Pautz, ‘What Are the Contents of Perceptual Experience?’
Week 4 (Thought)
Lecture: Tuesday 23rd March
Tutorial: Friday 26th March
Reading: Tim Crane, 'The Mechanisms of Thought' (Chapter 4) in The Mechanical Mind.
Week 5 (Grounding Intentionality)
Lecture: Tuesday 30th March
*No tutorial Friday 2nd April (Easter Friday)*
Reading: Karen Neander, ‘Teleological Theories of Mental Content: Can Darwin Solve the Problem of Intentionality?'
Mid-semester Break — Friday 2nd April- Friday 16th April
Week 6 (The Metaphysics of Consciousness)
Lecture: Tuesday 20th April
Tutorial: Friday 23rd April
Reading: Thomas Nagel, ‘What it is like to be a bat?’
Week 7 (Theories of Consciousness)
Lecture: Tuesday 27th April
Tutorial: Friday 30th April
Reading: Tim Bayne and Jacob Hohwy, ‘Consciousness: Theoretical Approaches’
Week 8 (Mental Causation)
Lecture: Tuesday 4th May
Tutorial: Friday 7th May
Reading: Karen Bennett, ‘Mental Causation’
Week 9 (Other Minds)
Lecture: Tuesday 11th May
Tutorial: Friday 14th May
Reading: Jane Heal, ‘Understanding Other Minds from the Inside’
Week 10 (Self-Knowledge)
Lecture: Tuesday 18th May
Tutorial: Friday 21st May
Reading: Matthew Boyle, 'Two Kinds of Self-Knowledge'
Week 11 (The Self)
Lecture: Tuesday 25th May
Tutorial: Friday 28th May
Reading: Monima Chadhaand Shaun Nichols, ‘Self-conscious emotions without a self’
Week 12 (TBA)
Lecture: Monday 31st May
Tutorial: Friday June 4th
Assessment:
The assessment for this course will be two essays (worth 50% each). The word limit for each essay is set at 2,000-2,500 words for students enrolled in PHIL200, and 2,500-3,000 for those in PHIL320.
Readings:
The readings for the course will be a selection of articles, which will be posted on the Reading List. Note: Students are *required* to do the readings before their tutorials, where they will have the opportunity to discuss the material in detail.
Tutorials:
Tutorials for this course will run as reading groups, where we will examine the readings more closely. For this to work, each student *must* read the relevant reading(s) before each tutorial, and come prepared to discuss them in adequate detail. We can discuss any topic of interest that stems from the reading, but here are some basic questions you need to think about before coming to the tutorial:
- What is the aim of this piece of philosophy? That is, what is it trying to show?
- How does it try to achieve this end? That is, are there arguments? If so, what are they? Is there an appeal to empirical data, and if so, does that succeed in establishing the main claims?
- Do you think the conclusion of the piece is actually supported by the evidence? For example, do the arguments work? If there is an appeal to empirical data, is that data itself contestable? Even if not, is it relevant?
- What is your view on the matter discussed? How would you defend this position?
The main reading for each tutorial will be one philosophy article. *It is crucial that you read this.* There will also be a (further) recommended reading, which will be a book, or a set of books, related to the article. Students are encouraged to dip into these as well. (Most of these are available as e-copies via the Canvas reading list).
Essays:
There will be two essays for this course, each worth 50%. For the first essay, you can write on any *one* of the topics covered in weeks 1-5. Likewise, for the second essay, you can write on any *one* of the topics covered in weeks 6-12. Essay questions and more detailed essay-writing instructions will be given closer to the essay deadline.
These essays are supposed to be research essays. So students are expected to have read the assigned readings relevant to their topic, i.e. the article plus at least one of the recommended books. Moreover, students are also expected to have read two or more articles they have found on their own. For this, I recommend using the search engine https://philpapers.org/
I grade according to the university grade descriptors. You can use these as a guide to what I am expecting from an essay in this course. (See Files).
Essay 1 Questions:
- What is the ‘mark’ of the mental?
- Is the mind a physical thing?
- What are the contents of perceptual experience?
- Do we think in a language?
- How do we explain mental representation?
Essay 2 Questions:
6. How should we solve the problem of consciousness?
7. What is the most promising theory of consciousness?
8. Should we believe in mental causation?
9. How do we solve the problem of other minds?
10. How should we explain our capacity for self-knowledge?
11. What is the self?
Things to bear in mind before writing your essay:
- Answer just *one* of these questions.
- It is vital that you answer the question. In other words, pick a position and argue for it. (Don't just provide a generic discussion of the topic).
- It is also crucial that your essay demonstrate a good grasp of the content of the lecture, tutorial and readings relevant to your topic. So draw on these to defend your position.
- In essence, what I am looking for is an essay that is clear, well-argued for, and demonstrates an excellent grasp of the material.
Extensions and Penalties
If you need an extension, please email me ideally a week before the due date. (Extensions can't be granted after the due date, or the weekend prior). If you don't have an extension, I will deduct 10% from the essay grade per day it is late. No essays can be submitted two weeks after the essay is due. (This also applies if you have an extension).
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|