Time Schedule:
William F. Harms
PHIL 363
Seattle Campus
Various theories of the nature of mind, the relationship between mind and body, the self, introspection, and knowledge of other minds.
Class description
Mind, for many otherwise secular thinkers, constitutes the last vestige of the human spirit: something that lies at the very core of who we are, and yet seems to resist a full accounting in materialistic/scientific terms. This course is a general introductory survey of the contemporary philosophical discussion of the mind as a (im)material entity and as an object of scientific study. Topics covered will include historical foundations, behaviorism, functionalism, mental causation and the mind-body problem, the reducibility of consciousness and qualia, theories of intentional content, machine intelligence, and realism vs. eliminativism. TEXT: Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings, David J. Chalmers.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
