Course overview
The human mind presents us with a number of mysteries: How does your mind make your body move? How can you represent things in your mind? Can we physically explain what it is like to feel pain? It is difficult to understand how minds fit into the physical world and interact with material things. It is hard to explain how minds are capable of representing the world in all its diversity. And it is a deep mystery how conscious experience, that most enigmatic feature of the mind, relates to our bodies and brains. Philosophy of Mind will consider all of these puzzles, and current attempts to solve them.
Course learning outcomes
- Introduce students to three central problems in the philosophy of mind: the metaphysical status of mental states, the capacity for mental representation, and the nature of consciousness.
- Be aware of the main philosophical positions in philosophy of mind.
- Have experience in analyzing and critiquing written arguments.
- Show improvement in problem solving and critical reasoning skills.
- Be able to discuss and debate philosophical issues in a group setting.