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PHL 332 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND Spring 2013

Dr. James Baillie


Office BC 147 Phone (943) 7298 E-mail baillie@up.edu
Office hours MTWR 1300-1430 and by appointment

The CAS Metaphysics Requirement


The aim of the College metaphysics requirement is to enable and encourage
students to critically engage certain basic questions of human existence: Who am I?
Who am I becoming? Why am I here? Who or what is God? How can one relate to
God? Because fundamental questions concerning the nature of the mind and its
relation to the physical world bear directly on discussions of the meaning and
purpose of human existence, as well as on theological investigations of God and
immortality, Philosophy of Mind is included among the courses meeting the College
metaphysics requirement.

PHL 332 General Learning Objectives


Metaphysics consists in the investigation of the most fundamental concepts in our
account of the world. These include mind, matter, causation, freedom,
consciousness, thought. This course will investigate the possibility of making sense
of ourselves as self-conscious rational agents in a purely physical world. We will
focus on the following questions:
What is the relationship between mental and physical properties?
Can science explain how thoughts represent the world?
Can science explain consciousness?

The course aims to enable the student to:


1. Comprehend the major historical and contemporary figures in the philosophy of
mind;
2. Understand how problems in philosophy of mind are related to issues in other
academic disciplines such as neuroscience and psychology, and to problems of
everyday life;
3. Read original texts on metaphysical problems in a competent manner;
4. Write technically competent essays that display a critical awareness of issues in
metaphysics;
5. Express and discuss philosophical ideas;
6. Integrate readings & discussions with the students intellectual & personal life;
7. Prepare students for more advanced study in this area.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Your grade for the course will be determined by two tests (20% each), two
papers (25% each), and participation (10%).

The first test will be around week 5.


The first paper will be will be just before Spring break.
The second test will be just before dead week
The second paper will be on Finals week.

Classroom etiquette is similar to "movie rules": do not do anything that distracts


anyone else from the task at hand. In general, treat everyone - including yourself -
with respect. For example, when someone is speaking (including me), give that
person your attention. This means no chatting, texting, doing work for other classes,
etc.. Violation of these rules undermines our work together, and warrants a
deduction from your participation grade.

Extra credit will only be given in very special circumstances. Indiscriminate use of
extra credit is a disincentive for people to commit themselves to regular
coursework. It also enables them to achieve an inflated grade that does not reflect
their understanding of the material.

You must be present on the scheduled date of any test or risk a grade of F for it. If
you cannot be present at the time scheduled, you must make arrangements with
me at least three days in advance. If you are sick on a test day, you must provide
evidence (e.g. a doctors note) confirming this.

There will be no class on Founders Day, April 9, so that you can attend student
presentations.
COURSE OUTLINE WITH READINGS AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES
There are two required texts:
Ian Ravenscroft - Philosophy of Mind: a Beginners Guide
Torin Alter and Robert J. Howell A Dialogue on Consciousness

In the reading list below, R stands for Ravenscroft; A stands for Alter & Howell; H
stands for handouts (Word files on Moodle); E stands for articles accessed via the
Web or electronic reserve.
I teach with overheads. I will put some of the more technical or detailed notes on
Moodle.
Further readings will be assigned with the paper topics.

THE MIND-BODY PROBLEM: GENERAL THEORIES


Students should to be able to differentiate, and critically evaluate the following
theories:
Substance Dualism
Philosophical Behaviorism
Type-Identity Theory
Functionalism

Dualism a first look


R Ch. 1
A p. 3-15
H Rene Descartes, excerpt from Discourse on Method, and objection by Princess
Elisabeth

Private Language Argument


H Ludwig Wittgenstein, excerpts from Philosophical investigations
E William Child, Wittgenstein, pp. 151-159

Philosophical Behaviorism
R ch 2.1-3
H Frank Jackson and David Braddon-Mitchell, Problems for Behaviorism

Physicalism a first look


R Ch. 8.1-2

Smart: Type-Identity Theory


R Ch. 3
H J.J.C. Smart, excerpts from Sensations and Brain Processes
Multiple Realization objection
H Hilary Putnam, excerpts from The Nature of Mental States
H Jerry Fodor, excerpts from Special Sciences

Putnam & Fodor: Functionalism against Type-Identity Theory


R Ch. 4.1; (see also 10.1 on problem of causal exclusion)
H Jerry Fodor, excerpts from The Mind-Body Problem
E Jaegwon Kim, Mind as a Computing Machine
Lewis: Functionalism as Type-Identity Theory
R Ch. 4.1-3
E Frank Jackson and David Braddon-Mitchell, The Identity Theory
H David Lewis, excerpts from An Argument for the Identity Theory,
Psychophysical and Theoretical Identifications, and Reduction of Mind.

MINDS AND MACHINES Next, we will examine a development of functionalism


in which thinking is regarded as a computational process. Students should be able
to critically evaluate
The thesis that thinking consists in rule-governed symbol manipulation
The Turing Test
The Chinese Room argument

Computational Theory of Mind


R ch. 6.1-4
H Jerry Fodor, The Big Idea

Turing Test and Chinese Room


R ch. 6.6

Language of Thought
R ch. 6.5
H Jerry Fodor, Why There Still Has to be a Language of Thought

CONSCIOUSNESS
Students should be able to describe and critically evaluate
The hard problem of consciousness
Conceivability arguments against physicalism
The Knowledge argument against physicalism

A The main reading for this section is Alter & Howells. Check the index for
specific topics.
E Alex Byrne What Mind-Body Problem? (excellent overview)
H Rene Descartes, excerpt from Meditation VI; objection by Antoine Arnauld
R ch. 11.1; ch. 12
E David Chalmers: Facing up to the Problem of Consciousness (sections 1-3)
http://consc.net/papers/facing.pdf
H Thomas Nagel, excerpts from What is it like to be a bat?
H David Chalmers, excerpts from The Conscious Mind
UNIVERSITY POLICIES AND RESOURCES

University of Portlands Code of Academic Integrity


Academic integrity is openness and honesty in all scholarly endeavors. The
University of Portland is a scholarly community dedicated to the discovery,
investigation, and dissemination of truth, and to the development of the whole
person. Membership in this community is a privilege, requiring each person to
practice academic integrity at its highest level, while expecting and promoting the
same in others. Breaches of academic integrity will not be tolerated and will be
addressed by the community with all due gravity.

Assessment Disclosure Statement


Student work products for this course may be used by the University for educational
quality assurance purposes.

Disabilities Statement
If you have a disability and require an accommodation to fully participate in this
class, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSWD), located in the
University Health Center (503-943-7134), as soon as possible. If you have an
OSWD Accommodation Plan, you should make an appointment to meet with me to
discuss your accommodations. Also, you should meet with me if you wish to discuss
emergency medical information or special arrangements in case the building must
be evacuated.

The Learning Resource Center


The Learning Resource Center, located in Franz 120, houses the Writing Center,
Math Resource Lab, Speech Resource Center, Group Process Assistance, and
International Language Assistance (French, Spanish, German, Chinese).

The Writing Center is open by appointment and works to support professors and
students as they write across the disciplines. Appointments are made electronically.
To schedule an appointment, go the Writing Center website at
http://www.up.edu/lrc/writing/ and click on Appointments to sign in and view the
schedule.

The Math Resource Lab offers tutoring to students studying mathematics Sunday
through Thursday. Help with mathematics is available on a walk-in basis or, to
schedule an appointment, call (503) 943-8157.

The Department of Communication Studies offers assistance to students at the


University of Portland who seek to plan, prepare, practice, and deliver public
presentations. Speech assistants are available by appointment only. To schedule an
appointment go to www.up.edu/lrc/speech and click on the email link.

The Department of Communication Studies also offers assistance to students


working on group projects. For information on how to schedule an appointment, go
to www.up.edu/lrc/groupprocess.

The International Languages and Cultures Department offers tutoring support in


French, German, Chinese, and Spanish. To make an appointment, go to
www.up.edu/lrc/languages/signup.

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