PHIL 205

PHIL 205: Philosophy of Mind
Instructor: Tugba Yoldas

Course Description

What is it, exactly, that is doing the thinking to write these lines now? Where do the thoughts come from? What determines what we are thinking about? How are mental states like thought related to the brain and to the world out there? Are the vehicles of mental states only in the brain or do they extend beyond the boundaries of skin and skull? How does the brain give rise to subjective experiences such as perceptions, bodily sensations including pain, pleasure, tickles and itches, and emotions? What makes our mental states conscious? Can a non-biological system have mental states; can it think and feel?

This course is designed to introduce and systematically think about basic questions like these in the philosophy of mind. We will begin with asking general questions about the nature of the mind, the relation between bodies, minds, and the physical world. We will proceed to ask how purely physical processes can give rise to subjective experiences, thereby exploring the nature of consciousness. We will also investigate the topic of the distribution of consciousness with an emphasis on artificial intelligence systems. Finally, we will end our inquiry by discussing the nature of intentionality to try to understand where our mental states get their content from.

There are no prerequisites for this course.