Welcome to Philosophy 551: Philosophy of Mind
The central problem in philosophy of mind concerns the nature of the relationship between mind and body (or brain). Some philosophers, dualists, have argued that minds are non-physical, soul-like entities. This view has fallen on hard times, mainly because of the difficulty it faces in accounting for the apparent interaction between minds and bodies. If minds are non-physical, the critic asks, then how does it cause the body to do things, and how, in turn, do changes in the body cause the mind to feel or think? My own view is that dualism is completely unjustifiable not because of difficult questions it faces but because there are simply no data that one could ever cite in its support. The philosophically more defensible conception of the mind holds that minds are in some sense physical. Understanding what this sense is will occupy us for most of the semester. We'll consider different ways that the mind might be physical and will try to come to terms with some of the more unsettling consequences that a physicalist theory of mind seems to imply, e.g. the impossibility of mental causation. We'll be especially concerned with trying to understand how conscious phenomena -- sensations, feelings, etc. -- might be physical, and how intentional states -- beliefs, desires, hopes -- come to represent how the world is or might be.
All readings are in Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings, D. Chalmers (ed.). The book is available at Underground Textbook Exchange, on the university end of State St. Following is a list of the readings. We will go in order and I will announce in class which readings will be required in subsequent classes.
Theories of Mind
- Rene Descartes: Meditations II and VI
- Gilbert Ryle: Descartes' Myth
- J.J.C. Smart: Sensations and Brain Processes
- D.M. Armstrong: The Causal Theory of the Mind
- Ned Block: Troubles with Functionalism
Psychophysical Relations
- Donald Davidson: Mental Events. See also Kim's "Psychophysical Laws"
- Jerry Fodor: Special Sciences
- Jaegwon Kim: Multiple Realization and the Metaphysics of Reduction
- Jaegwon Kim: The Many Problems of Mental Causation
Consciousness
- Ned Block: Concepts of Consciousness
- Frank Jackson: Epiphenomenal Qualia. Along with this, read Brie Gertler's The Knowledge Argument
- Joseph Levine: Materialism and Qualia: The Explanatory Gap
- Ned Block and Robert Stalnaker: Conceptual Analysis, Dualism, and the Explanatory Gap
- David Rosenthal: Explaining Consciousness
Intentionality and Propositional Attitudes
- Roderick Chisholm: Intentional Inexistence
- Fred Dretske: A Recipe for Thought
- Wilfrid Sellars: Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind
- Jerry Fodor: Propositional Attitudes
You will have to write three papers. Papers should be around five pages in length. I will provide topics for the first two papers. It will be up to you to decide on a third paper topic. I recommend reading "How to Write a Philosophy Paper" before writing your first paper (link above). The first paper is worth 20% of your grade; the second and third are worth 25% each.
Paper Topic One:
Describe the functionalist conception of the mind. What are Block’s criticisms of functionalism and are they successful?
This paper is due in class Monday, February 19. It should be 5pp in length, double-spaced, with one inch margins.
Here are some strategies that you might find useful in answering the question. In describing functionalism, it might be helpful to contrast it with preceding theories of mind like the type-identity theory or logical behaviorism. If you choose to do this, be careful not to turn the paper into a “compare and contrast” exercise. This is a paper about functionalism, so you should not say more about other theories of mind than what is useful for explicating functionalism.
Use examples, both to characterize functionalism and to clarify Block’s objections to the theory. Choose a particular kind of mental state (pain, lust, jealousy, boredom, etc.) to show how a functionalist analysis of the mental in general is supposed to work.
When presenting and criticizing Block’s objections, build on the explication of functionalism that you have developed. Put yourself in the functionalist’s shoes and try to figure out what he/she would say in response to Block. Has Block mischaracterized functionalism? Are his counterexamples fair? Is he begging some question?Paper Topic Two:
Take a position on Frank Jackson's Mary argument. Does the argument show what Jackson thinks it does? If so, how does the argument escape various criticisms of it? If not, which criticisms are most damaging to it?
This paper is due in class Friday, March 23. It should be 5pp in length, double-spaced, with one inch margins.
There will be a Final Exam. The exam is worth 30% of your final grade. The Final will be on Thursday, May 17th, at 12:25p.m. and will consist of short essay questions.
Your attendance in class is mandatory. This means that you have to attend. Of course, emergencies, illnesses, and important obligations may prevent you from doing so, in which case please consult with me about your absence.
You must be respectful of each other. This means that you should not interrupt students when they are speaking, you should not laugh (derisively) at what others say, you should not stick your tongue out at others, and so on. Please turn off your cell phones before lecture begins.
If at anytime you have a complaint or concern about this course that you do not wish to discuss with me, you are free to contact Jim Anderson, assistant to the Chair.