Philosophy of Mind

Philosophy of Mind is a Cognitive Science class taught by Jonathan Westphal.

This course requires prerequisites.

Course Description
This course focuses on the relationship between minds and bodies, and the nature of mental phenomena such as thoughts, desires, and qualia (qualitative states such as the experience of seeing red or tasting a peach). If we assume that minds are physical or material entities - an assumption prevalent today - then we must ask how typically mental features such as thoughts, sensations, emotions and consciousness can emerge out of the seemingly unthinking, unfeeling grey matter of the brain. We will consider some historical responses to these issues, but will focus on insights provided by contemporary philosophy and sciences of the mind. We will discuss the approaches of behaviorism, functionalism, mind-brain identity theory and embodied cognition to these issues. Students will be required to write a series of short and one longer paper. Prerequisite: At least one prior course in philosophy is recommended; one prior course in philosophy or psychology is required.