Philosophy 136: Philosophy of Mind


Spring 2007
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2-3:20
Where: Peterson 102
Back to UCSD philosophy courses

Instructor: Jonathan Cohen
email: joncohenREMOVETHIS@aardvark.ucsd.edu (omit text in caps, which reduces automated spam)
phone: (858) 534 6812
Office hours: Thursdays 10-11:30 and by appointment, in H&SS 8072
Reader: Eric Martin

Overview

Brain in a Vat The philosophy of mind is that area of philosophy connected with questions about mind, its nature, its operation, and its connections with the rest of the universe. Classical problems in the area involve the relationship between the mind and the body, paradoxes concerning personal identity, and questions about the existence and nature of free will. Philosophy of mind has deep connections not only with philosophical research in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, ethics, and the like, but also (and increasingly) with work outside philosophy -- in linguistics, artificial intelligence, and psychology, to name a few important examples.

I hope that, by presenting some of the major questions and considering some of the proposed programs in the field, I can introduce you to the issues and whet your philosophical appetites.


Course Requirements

The formal requirements for this course are of two kinds: the Thursday reaction pieces and the papers/exams.

Reaction Pieces

For this course to be useful/interesting/fun, it's essential that everyone stays up to date in the reading. To ensure this, and also as a way of encouraging your active participation, I'm asking for a very brief statement (1 paragraph, typed) at the beginning of class every Thursday. You need to pass in at the beginning of class (on paper, not by email) 5 of these reaction pieces during the quarter to receive a passing grade. This isn't onerous if you think about it: there are 10 weeks, so that averages to just one paragraph every other week, which I'm sure you can handle. In this statement please comment on anything in the reading for the week that you found interesting, dumb, difficult, brilliant, questionable, illuminating, or whatever. Reaction pieces will be graded on a simple acceptable/unacceptable scale; for an assignment to be considered acceptable, it must only (i) show me that you have thoughtfully engaged the week's reading, and (ii) contain fewer than 4 spelling or grammar errors.

Papers/Exams

I'll also require three short (5-7 page) papers. I shall hand out a list of topics for the papers before each is due. Grades will be determined on the basis of the three papers, and I'll use class participation as a way of deciding borderline cases.

Note that the third paper will count as your final exam: it will be due on the officially assigned day and time of exam week, so that you'll have plenty of time after the end of official course instruction to complete it.

There will be no midterm for the course.

Academic Integrity

Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated in this course; violators will receive an F on at least the relevant assignment and possibly the course, and will be subjected to UCSD's disciplinary procedures (which could result in penalties including permanent explusion from the university).

You are responsible for knowing and adhering to the UCSD Policy on Integrity in all respects. In particular, you may not cause or allow your work for this course to resemble that of any other person, and all use of the ideas or words of anyone other than a paper's author must be acknowledged properly. I don't care a huge amount about specific citation formats; I do care a huge amount that sources are acknowledged. As far as collaboration goes, it's fine (it's encouraged) to talk about the philosophical issues with other students or anyone else you like; but when it is time to write up an essay you should do so entirely by yourself. If you have any questions about the Policy on Integrity or how to follow it (e.g., if you are unsure how to cite ideas from other sources) please ask me! I am very happy to help prevent real or apparent violations of academic integrity before they occur, and very unhappy to discover them after they have occured. As you may have noticed, I feel very strongly about this issue.

Required Text

There is one required text for the course: William Lycan's Mind and Cognition: An Anthology (2nd edition, Blackwell). This book is, I'm told, available in the UCSD bookstore.

Tentative Syllabus

This syllabus is tentative: I reserve the right to add, subtract, or reschedule items as the course progresses. Readings marked with a '*' are available on electronic reserve at Giesel Library; all others are in the Lycan anthology.
TopicReadings
Ontology of the Mental Descartes, Second Meditation*
Chomsky, "Review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior"*
Place, "Is Consciousness a Brain Process?"
Smart, "Sensations and Brain Processes"*
Kripke, "Identity and Necessity"*
Armstrong, "The Causal Theory of the Mind"
Putnam, "The Nature of Mental States"
Block, "Troubles with Functionalism"* (don't read the excerpt from the Lycan book -- read the longer version on reserve instead)
Dennett, "True Believers"
Stich, "Dennett on Intentional Systems"
Churchland, "Eliminative Materialism and the Propositional Attitudes"
Consciousness Nagel, "What is it Like to Be a Bat?"*
Jackson, "Epiphenomenal Qualia"
Lewis, "What Experience Teaches"
Dennett, "Quining Qualia"*
Harman, "The Intrinsic Quality of Experience"
Block, "Inverted Earth"
Palmer, "Color, consciousness, and the isomorphism constraint", pp 923-936* (i.e., sections 1-2)
Loar, "Phenomenal States: Second Version"*