Philosophy of Mind (PHIL 235) - Bates College（精神哲学(235年菲尔)贝茨大学）.pdf

Philosophy of Mind (PHIL 235) Bates College, Hathorn 104 Professor William Seeley T/Th 1:10 – 2:30 Office Hours, T/Th 9:30-10:30 Course Description: What is a mind? Are minds distinct from brains? If so, what is the relationship between minds and brains? Could a brain literally lose its mind? If it were possible, would the individual become a person without thoughts? Would it even be a person at all? Questions like these are the domain of philosophy of mind. In this field philosophers ask questions about the nature mind, the relationship between the mind and its environment, and the ability of anyone to know the contents of other minds. For instance, what is a belief, what is a desire, and how do these two types of mental states combine to form our human conception of the world. In this course we will examine these sorts of questions. The topics discussed will include: dualism, behaviorism, physicalism, the nature of psychological explanation, consciousness, and the nature of mental representation. This course is a good course for students who are also interested in cognitive science, philosophy of language, and philosophy of science. Course Goals: The goals of this course are threefold. We will try to come to an understanding of what the philosophical distinction between minds and bodies is, and more importantly what it is not. In this context we will evaluate contemporary debates about reduction, physicalism , and personhood . These debates will be used to evaluate the philosophical conception of mind, the commonsense conception of a person, and their relation to scientific theories in psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience. Requirements: Students will be asked to write two 3 page papers (worth 15% of the final grade each), a 6midterm paper (worth 30% of the final grade), and a final paper (worth 30% of the final grade). Students will be given a choice between two assigned topics for each paper. Class partici