PHL2650 Philosophy of Mind
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Handbook entry - a brief description of the subject can be found in the handbook entry. The handbook also provides information about the unit leader, the semester and mode in which the unit is available, the contact hours and the assessment requirements.
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MUSO/Blackboard site - there is a MUSO/Blackboard site for this unit where assessment tasks, lecture notes and other unit resources will be posted. Once enrolled, students taking this unit are advised to check MUSO/Blackboard regularly.
About this subject:
The philosophy of mind is concerned with two broad questions: first, what is the metaphysical nature of the mind? And, second, how does the mind work? The debate about the first of these questions is called the “mind-body problem,” and it arises from the following sorts of consideration. Many people now think that the mind is a part, or feature, of the body; perhaps the mind is the brain. However, there seems to be aspects of mental life — some of the features of consciousness, for example — that not only defy explanation in physical or biological terms but seem to do so in principle. For this reason, some have argued that the mind must be something different from the body and brain. If this is the case, however, then how do the mind and body communicate? And how does something physical interact with something that is not physical?
The second broad question concerns whether the mind is, roughly speaking, a sophisticated computer. Many philosophers think it is. But again, there are problems with this view. For example, computers can carry out very complex tasks, but they don’t seem to have any kind of understanding of what they are doing. If minds are computers, then how do we achieve this understanding? Or is this achievement really an illusion?
This course will deal with these two central questions about the mind. We will read a number of important papers by contemporary philosophers, analyse their arguments and evaluate whether the arguments are successful.
Textbooks:
The unit's Study Guide contains all the required readings for the semester. It will be available from the Monash Bookshop, Clayton, at the start of semester. Most of these readings are also available in digitised form from the library.
In addition, students are strongly encouraged to buy this title as a supplementary text:Kim, J. Philosophy of Mind, 2nd Edition. Boulder: Westview Press 2006.