Paul Klee, Twittering Machine, 1922

Course Description

"Does what we think ever affect what we do?" This simple but rather puzzling question is the starting point for our philosophical investigation of the mind. We begin with the French philosopher René Descartes and the classic "mind-body problem". What exactly is a mind? Is the mind separate from the body? Is it an immaterial substance or is it nothing more than the brain? What are beliefs and desires? What role do they play in human behavior? After exploring the classic philosophical debates, we turn to contemporary questions raised by cognitive psychologists and philosophers. What is the relationship between the qualities of our experience (colors, sounds, feelings, etc.) and the physical properties of the objective world? What is conscious experience or consciousness? How is it related to the physical functioning of the brain and human behavior? Could human beings exist without conscious experiences, i.e. as "zombies"?

Students engage in close reading and critical examination of topics such as substance dualism, behaviorism, functionalism, mental representations, qualia, free will, mental causation, and epiphenomenalism. This course provides an essential foundation for more advanced work in philosophy and will also appeal to students interested in psychology, anthropology, and sociology.