| Unit name | Philosophy of Mind |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHIL20010 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Tahko |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Philosophy |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The unit is concerned with the nature of mind and its relation to the natural physical world. It divides into roughly two parts, the first dealing with metaphysical issues, the second epistemological ones. The metaphysical part deals with the question of the relation between a person's mind and his/her body and its states. In the epistemological part of the unit, we examine how a person knows about his/her own mind, and how he/she can know about the minds of others.
The aim of this unit is to address a group of closely related questions: Is the mind identical to the brain? What are phenomenal properties? Are they reducible to the entities postulated by current science? How does the mind represent the world?
On successful completion of this unit students will be able to:
1. demonstrate detailed knowledge and in-depth understanding of the central debates and positions within the philosophy of mind,
2. demonstrate detailed knowledge and in-depth understanding of the key literature on those debates and positions,
3. demonstrate the ability to philosophically engage with the relevant debates and to critically assess the relevant positions, together with the key literature on these, to a standard appropriate to level I/5,
4. demonstrate skills in philosophical writing, of a standard appropriate to level I/5,
5. give clear and effective oral presentations explaining and critically analysing philosophical ideas and arguments.
22 1-hour lectures and 11 1-hour seminars
FORMATIVE:
1 x 1000 word assignment [ILOs (1)-(4)]
SUMMATIVE
Oral presentation (15%) [ILOs (1)-(3), (5)]
1 x 2500 word essay (85%0 [ILOs (1)-(4)]
