PHIL30030 Philosophy of Mind

Academic Year 2019/2020

What is the nature of the mind? How is the mind related to the body? Those are the two most central questions in the philosophy of mind. This course will provide an introduction to the main topics, theories, and arguments in this field. In the first part, we will address the mind-body problem. We will look at traditional answers, ranging from dualism to materialism, and at more recent views, such as functionalism, the computational theory of mind, and connectionism. In the second part, we will focus on questions concerning the nature of consciousness and intentionality (or 'aboutness'). The main question will be whether or not consciousness and intentionality can ever be explained or 'naturalized'. In the final part, we will address some selected further issues that have been discussed in the more recent debate. They include the nature of the emotions and embodied cognition.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course will have (1) a good grasp of the central issues in the contemporary philosophy of mind, (2) engaged critically with the most important views and arguments in this area, and (3) developed some independent thoughts and arguments on some of those issues.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Tutorial

8
Autonomous Student Learning

93
Total

125
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures, Tutorials and class participation 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

It is recommended that students doing this module should have already done four stage 2 modules. We advise you to consult the module co-ordinator in advance of choosing this module if you have not done much philosophy before. (Philosophy approaches questions concerning the nature of the mind in a very different way from psychology, for instance, involving thought experiments and back-and-forth argumentation on questions that have no 'agreed results' and no uncontroversial solutions, etc.)


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
PHIL2008E - Mind and Action


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Continuous Assessment: Submission of short discussion questions in the tutorials. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10
Essay: 2000 words Week 7 n/a Graded No

45
Essay: 2000 words. Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

45

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Mr Robert Foley Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Rana Bizri Tutor
Mr John Rogers Tutor