Philosophy of Mind
PHL 462
Fall 2005

PHL 462 Home | General InformationSchedule | Assignments | Resources | On-Line Papers

Schedule

As the semester progresses, I may make some changes in this schedule. These will be announced in class.
 You do not need to bring the textbook with you to class.

René Descartes: Dualism, Automatons and Infallible Self Knowledge

8/31     René Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (II & VI), pp. 10-20

9/7:      René Descartes, Letter to More: 5 February 1649 (Packet)

Interview with Koko the Gorilla, Harper’s Magazine, August 1998 (Packet)

Reactions to Descartes’ Legacy: The Problem of Other Minds and Behaviorism

9/12     Bertrand Russell, Analogy, pp. 667-669
            Norman Malcolm, Knowledge of Other Minds (Packet)

9/14     Gilbert Ryle, Descartes Myth, pp. 32-39
Paul Bloom, The Dual Between Body and Soul (Handout)

Alternatives to Dualism: Identity and Functionalism

9/19     J. J. C. Smart, Sensations and Brain Processes, pp. 60-67

9/21     Jerry Fodor, The Mind-Body Problem (Packet)

9/26     D. M. Armstrong, The Causal Theory of the Mind, pp. 80-87

9/28     Ned Block, Troubles with Functionalism, pp. 94-98

10/3     Debate: Dualism vs. Materialism
            Option A: First Mid-Term Exam Due

Alternatives to Mental Realism: Instrumentalism and Eliminativism

10/5     Daniel Dennett, True Believers: The Intentional Strategy and Why it Works, pp. 556-568

10/10   Paul Churchland, Eliminative Materialism and the Propositional Attitudes, pp. 568-580
            Option A: Peer Review Due

10/12   Lynne Rudder Baker, Cognitive Suicide (Packet)

Can Computer’s Think?

10/17   Alan Turing, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, excerpt (Packet)
Option B: 4-5 Page Small Paper Due

10/19   John Searle, Can Computers Think? pp. 669-675

10/24   Margaret A. Boden, Escaping from the Chinese Room (Packet)

10/26   Debate: Can Computers Think?

Intentionality and Mental Content: Internalism vs. Externalism

10/31   Hilary Putnam, The Meaning of ‘Meaning’, excerpt, pp. 581-596

11/2     Tyler Burge, Individualism and the Mental, excerpt, pp. 597-607
            Option A: Second Mid-Term Exam Due

11/7     Michael McKinsey, Anti-Individualism and Privileged Access, pp. 634-638

11/9     Andy Clark and David Chalmers, The Extended Mind, pp. 643-651
            Option A: Peer Review Due

Mental Causation

11/14   Jaegwon Kim, The Many Problems of Mental Causation, pp. 170-179
Option B: Paper Topic Due

11/16   Stephen Yablo, Mental Causation, pp. 179-196.

Consciousness

11/21   David Chalmers, Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness
http://consc.net/papers/facing.html
Option B: First Draft Due (8-10 Pages)

11/23   Class Cancelled

11/28   Frank Jackson, Epiphenomenal Qualia, pp. 273-280
Option B: Peer Reviews Due

11/30   Colin McGinn, Can We Solve the Mind-Body Problem?, p. 394-405

12/5     Daniel Dennett, Quining Qualia, pp. 226-246

12/7     Debate: Consciousness and Its Place in Nature

12/14   Final Paper Due