Philosophy 3

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to philosophy by doing philosophy of mind. We will begin by taking up the traditional question: What kind of thing is the mind? In connection with this question, we will engage with philosophers who think of the contents of the mind, things such as ideas, perceptions, beliefs, dreams, and imaginings, as something like pictures. We will focus on dreams in particular. From there, we will move on to an enormous question in the philosophy of mind which brings together a number of fascinating issues: Are human beings free? And if so, to what extent are they free and in what areas of our mental life does our freedom lie? In connection with this question, we will look at some writings in psychoanalysis and spend some time thinking about one particularly important domain of our freedom, namely: love. Throughout the course, we will learn how to read, think, speak, and write critically and with great precision and rigor.