Philosophy 132

This is an upper-level philosophy course focused on the mind. Science tells us that the world is made up of physical particles that follow natural laws. But how can the mind –and consciousness – fit into such a worldview? We will begin by looking at purported solutions to the mind-body problem (Dualism, Identity Theory, Behaviorism, Functionalism), noting how some of these theories have been influenced by fields like neurobiology and cognitive science. We will go on to discuss Intentionality (the mind’s ability to represent) and the related internalism-externalism debate about mental contents. Our next topic will be the epistemic puzzles related to the mind: whether there is an explanatory gap between the mental and the physical, and the problem of whether we can know anything about other minds. We will go on to talk about theories of consciousness, and we will end with a look at specific problems in the philosophy of mind: mental disorders, animal minds, and the strangeness of quantum mechanical interpretations of the mind.