Philosophy 244/244W/444
Fall 2006
Instructor: David Braun
Time and Location: MWF 11:00-11:50 pm, Dewey 2110-E
Office, Phone, E-mail: Lattimore 525, 275-8107, david.braun@rochester.edu
Office Hours: Mondays 2:00-4:00 pm, and by appointment
Course Web Page: www.ling.rochester.edu/~braun/Teaching/244.htm
We will discuss some fundamental questions about the nature of minds and mental states, and what is sometimes known as “the mind-body problem”. Are minds and mental states physical or non-physical in nature? Are mental states just complex dispositions to behave in certain ways? Are mental states identical with certain kinds of brain states? In what respect (if any) is a mind like a computer? Could a purely physical object be conscious? How can a mental state represent something, or be about something? Could a physical state of a brain or computer do this? Our consideration of these questions will begin with arguments for and against several theories of the nature of minds and mental states, including dualism, materialism, behaviorism, and functionalism.
Required Texts
Jaegwon Kim, Philosophy of Mind, second edition.
David Chalmers (ed.), Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings.
Readings on electronic reserve.
Recommended Texts
Paul Churchland, Matter and Consciousness, revised edition.
David Braddon-Mitchell & Frank Jackson, The Philosophy of Mind and Cognition
Required Work for Undergraduate Students Without Upper-Level Writing
1. Two short papers, about 3 pages each, on assigned topics. Tentative due dates: Friday, September 22 and Friday, October 13.
2. One in-class midterm examination. Tentative date: Friday, October 20.
3. A longer paper of about 5-7 pages, on an assigned topic, with choice. Tentative due date: Friday, November 17.
4. A second in-class examination covering the last half of the course on Wednesday, December 20, 7:15 pm.
Required Work for Undergraduate Students With Upper-Level Writing
Same as above, but you are required rewrite the long paper described in (4). Tentative due date for your rewrite: Monday, December 4.
Required Work for Graduate Students
Same as for undergraduate students without upper level writing, except that (i) standards will be higher, (ii) all recommended readings will be required, (iii) additional questions may be required on the exams, and (iv) the long paper described in (4) should be about 10 pages and will be due Friday, December 1. Matriculated Ph.D. students will also be required to attend an additional one-hour weekly meeting with me, time to be arranged.
Grading
I will grade each assignment on a 100-point scale. At the end of the semester, I will multiply each assignment’s score by the percentages given below, sum the results, design a curve, and determine break-off points for letter grades. Percentages for assignments:
Undergraduates without upper-level writing
1. Two short papers 15% each
2. Midterm 20%
3. Long paper 25%
4. Final 25%
Undergraduates with upper-level writing
1. Two short papers 15% each
2. Midterm 20%
3. Long paper, first draft 15%
4. Long paper, rewrite 10%
5. Final 25%
Graduates: same as undergraduates without upper-level writing.
Clusters
This course can be used to satisfy the requirements for the “Knowledge, Mind, and Nature” cluster in philosophy.
Schedule and Deadlines
The due dates, and the schedule of readings, are tentative. At each class meeting, I will announce the readings for the following class session. I will also announce deadlines for papers and dates for exams in class.
E-mail announcements and Class Web Site
The URL for the class web site is given above. I will periodically send announcements and reminders by e-mail to your mail.rochester.edu accounts.
Rescheduling Examinations
To be fair to all students, examinations must be taken on the dates that I announce in class (which should coincide closely with the tentative dates given above), except in a very few unusual circumstances described below. Under no circumstances will exams be given before their scheduled date. This includes the final exam. (You should keep this in mind when you make plane/train/bus reservations for the end of the term.) Make-up exams will be offered only to those who can document illness on the day of the exam, for those who have family emergencies (documentation required), for those who have out of town commitments due to membership in a college organization (e.g., sports teams), and for those who have conflicts with religious requirements. You must let me know no later than the third week of class if you anticipate having a commitment that conflicts with an exam.
Reading List and Tentative Schedule
I will periodically make reading assignments from the list below, at approximately the times indicated. There may be additions or subtractions to the readings.
K = Kim
C = Chalmers anthology
E = Electronic reserve, http://www.library.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=courses
W = Web
L = Churchland
B = Braddon-Mitchell and Jackson
1. Dualism (Sep 6 - Sep 18)
K: Chapters 1 and 2.
C: Rene Descartes, “Meditations 2 & 6”, 10-20. Descartes, “Passions of the Soul,” 21-23. Gilbert Ryle, “Descartes’ Myth”, 32-38.
E: Antoine Arnauld, “Objections IV” and Descartes’s “Reply”.
Recommended: L, 1-22 and 32-33. B, 1-17.
☞ First short paper due Friday, Sep 22☜
2. Behaviorism (Sep 20 - Sep 29)
K: Chapter 3.
C: Gilbert Ryle, “Descartes’ Myth”, 32-38. Rudolf Carnap, “Psychology in Physical Language”, 39-44. Hilary Putnam, “Brains and Behavior”, 45-54. Bertrand Russell, “Analogy”, 667-669.
W: Ned Block, “The Mind as the Software of the Brain,” section 1.1 only. http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/block/papers/msb.html
(Also available in pdf on Electronic reserve.)
Recommended: L, 23-25, 54-55, 67-81, 88-91. B, chap. 2.
No Class on Friday, Sep 29
3. The Identity Theory (Oct 2 - Oct 9)
K: Chapter 4.
C: J.J.C. Smart, “Sensations and Brain Processes”, 60-67.
Recommended: L, 26-35, 96-98, 123-45. B, chap. 6. C, Saul Kripke, Selection from “Naming and Necessity”, 329-333.
☞Second short paper due Friday, Oct. 13.☜
Fall break on Monday, Oct 17
4. Functionalism (Oct 11 - Oct 18)
K: Chapter 5, 115-132, and Chapter 6, all of it.
W: Ned Block, “What is Functionalism?”, http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/block/papers/functionalism.pdf
C: Ned Block, “Troubles with Functionalism”, pp. 94-98.
Recommended: L, 36-42, 92-95. C, Lewis, “Psycho-physical & Theoretical Identifications”, 88-93. B, chaps. 3, 5, 7.
☞Midterm Examination, Friday, October 20☜
5. Minimal Materialism and Qualia (Oct 23 - Oct 30)
K: Chapter 1, 11-14. Chapter 8, 205-224.
C: Frank Jackson, “Epiphenomenal Qualia”, 273-280; David Lewis, “What Experience Teaches”, 291-294..
Recommended: C, the rest of Lewis, “What Experience Teaches.” B, chap. 8.
6. Intentionality and Strong Artificial Intelligence (Nov 1 - Nov 6)
K: pp. 97-102.
C: John Searle, “Can Computers Think?”, 669-675.
Recommended: W (or E), Block, “The Mind as the Software of the Brain”, section 4 . L, 92-95, 99-122. B, 107-111.
8. Intentionality and Externalism about Content (Nov 8 - Nov 13)
K: Chapter 9
C: Hilary Putnam, “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’”, 582-587. Tyler Burge, “Individualism and the Mental”, 599-605.
Recommended: B, chap. 12.
☞Long paper due Friday, Nov 17☜
Thanksgiving Break, Nov 22-26
9. Psychosemantics (Nov 15 - Nov 20)
K: Chapter 9.
C: Dretske, “A Recipe for Thought”, 491-499.
W: Block, “The Mind as the Software of the Brain,” URL above, especially sections 3.1-3.2.
Recommended: C, Fodor, “Propositional Attitudes,” 542-555. L, 63-66, 31.
10. Externalism and Self-Knowledge (Nov 27-Dec 4)
K: Chapter 9, 268-270.
C: Michael McKinsey, “Anti-Individualism and Privileged Access”, 634-638. Anthony Brueckner, “What an Individualist Knows A Priori”, 639-643.
No Class on Friday, Dec 2
11. Representational Theories of Qualia (Dec 6 - Dec 11)
C: Michael Tye, “Visual Qualia and Visual Content Revisited.”
E: Tye, “Precis of Ten Problems of Consciousness.” Block, “Is Experiencing Just Representing?” Tye, “Response to Discussants”.
☞Second Exam, Wednesday, December 20, 7:15 pm☜