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Philosophy
1320: Theories of the Mind, §D1
Russell
Marcus, Instructor. Email
me.
Stern
College, Spring 2007
Syllabus
(Click here for a pdf of the hard-copy
syllabus) (Here's a revised version, 3/26/07)
Updated
March 26, 2007
Meeting Times and Place:
- Mondays
1:25pm - 2:30pm
- Wednesdays
1:25pm - 2:50pm
Required
Text:
- Peter Morton, A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind,
Broadview Press
Recommended
Texts:
Note: Both textbooks are available at Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue
and 18th Street. The Morton should be shelved in the back room in the
Stern College section. The Churchland may be in the front room in the
regular philosophy section.
Requirements:
- All
the readings listed below.
- Attendance
and Participation (10%).
- Two short
essays (30% each) Tentative due dates:
- Final
Exam (30%)
Notes:
- Late
papers will be accepted, but penalized.
- Rewrites
of the first paper may be accepted, but only after consultation
with me.
- More
information on course requirements, including detailed paper assignments,
will be available here.
- The weights
for each assignment above are tentative. If I feel the need, I may give
some short quizzes at the beginning of classes, and adjust the weights
for each assignment. Quizzes, if there are any, will be announced.
- There
is no specific attendance requirement, though attendance is strongly
recommended, and there will be no make-ups for any missed quizzes.
Tentative
Schedule:
January
15:
January
17 - 22:
January
24 - February 7: (See the Reading Guide
for the suggested order of these readings)
- Galileo, from
The Assayer; pp 57-9.
- Descartes, from
The World or Treatise on Light, Principles of Philosophy,
Meditations on First Philosophy, and Discourse on Method;
pp 60-2; 75-88; 102-3.
- Arnauld, from
"Objections to Descartes' Meditations", pp 104-7
- Descartes, from
"Reply to Arnauld", and Principles of Philosophy, pp
108-14.
- Locke, from An
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, pp 114-6.
February
12-28:
- Hobbes, from Leviathan,
pp 129-133.
- Locke, from An
Essay Concerning Human Understanding, handout.
- Berkeley, from
The Principles, pp 134-40.
- Berkeley, from the introduction to The Principles, handout.
- Berkeley, from Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous, handout
February
26:
March 5-12:
- Skinner, from
Science and Human Behavior, pp 160-3.
- Hempel, "The
Logical Analysis of Psychology," 164-73.
- Ryle, from The
Concept of Mind, pp 187-97.
March 12-21:
- Armstrong, "The
Nature of Mind," pp 225-233.
- Smart, "Sensations
and Brain Processes;" pp 233-242.
- Kripke, from "Identity
and Necessity," pp 243-250.
March 26-28:
- Turing, "Computing
Machinery and Intelligence," pp 265-282.
- Putnam, "The
Nature of Mental States," pp 320-327.
- Fodor, from "Something
on the State of the Art," pp 328-333.
- Fodor and Block,
"What Psychological States Are Not," pp 333-4.
- Searle, "Minds,
Brains, and Programs," pp 282-296.
April 16-18 :
- Rorty, from Philosophy
and the Mirror of Nature, pp 351-354.
- Patricia Churchland,
from Neurophilosophy: Toward a Unified Science of the Mind-Brain, pp
355-366.
April 23:
April 23
- 25:
- Nagel, "What
is it Like to Be a Bat?" pp 391-400.
- Jackson, "Epiphenomenal
Qualia," pp 401-408.
- Dennett, "Quining
Qualia," pp 409-434.
April 30
- May 2:
Final Exam:
Monday, May 14, 9:30am - 11:30am.
Notes:
- Page
numbers refer to the Morton collection
- Reading
guides will be available for all assigned readings.
- The page
numbers listed above refer to the source as it appears in the Morton
collection. Morton also provides introductory passages which you may
find useful. I will indicate those passages I find most important in
the lecture notes.
- If there
is time, if we move more quickly thanI predict, at the end of the term
I might assign additional readings from the Intentionality section of
the Morton collection
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