2006 Handbooks

This course explores the relationship between the body and the mind. It introduces students to the central issues in contemporary philosophy of mind, focusing on the issue of whether the mind can be incorporated into the scientific picture of the world. The first part of the course will consist of a survey of competing philosophical theories of the mind: dualism, behaviourism, the identity theory, and functionalism. The second half will consist of a discussion of some topical issues in contemporary philosophy of mind and cognitive science. What is the nature of phenomenal (subjective) experience? Is a physical theory of consciousness possible? Should we be instrumentalists (anti-realists) about mental states? Is there a language of thought? If so, what is its nature? How do mental states have content? Does neurophysiology show us that common-sense psychology is scientifically not respectable?