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The University of Texas at El Paso

Department of Philosophy
Philosophy of Mind
PH 3301

John Symons
Worrell 306
Office Hours TR 10.30-12.00
747 5804

Catalog Description:

This course is a survey of central issues in contemporary philosophy of mind. We will consider different accounts of
the relations between minds and the physical world, including whether computers could ever have thoughts or
consciousness. Central to our investigation will be the problem of how mental states causally interact with neural
states. In addition, we will address questions concerning how much our thoughts and experiences depend on the
nature of our environments, and how much they are determined by our innate dispositions.

Required Textbooks:

David Chalmers, (2002) Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Alva Noe, (2010) Out of Our Heads, New York: Hill and Wang

Course Objective:

Students will:
1. Understand and be able to critically evaluate major contemporary theories in philosophy of mind.

Course Requirements:

1. This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. Any changes will be announced in
class.
2. Attendance is mandatory of all class sessions or notification to course instructor in the event that class
attendance is not possible. (Two unexcused absences can result in being dropped from the course)
3. Class Participation
4. Three essays (two 5 page papers and one 10-15 page paper)
5. Regular blackboard quizzes

I will not tolerate academic dishonesty and will comply with the university’s disciplinary regime as outlined here:
http://studentaffairs.utep.edu/

Please alert me to any disabilities which require appropriate modifications to your assignments

Preliminary Schedule

August 23 Introduction
August 25
A. Dualism
1. Rene Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy (II and VI).  
4. Raymond M. Smullyan, An unfortunate dualist.
August 30
B. Behaviorism
7. Hilary Putnam, Brains and behavior.

September 1
C. The identity theory
8. U.T. Place, Is consciousness a brain process?

September 6 Labor Day (NO CLASS)


September 8
D. Functionalism
11. Hilary Putnam, The nature of mental states.
13. David Lewis, Psychophysical and theoretical identifications.

September 13 & 15 (No Class: Class will be rescheduled for Friday September 24 12-3pm)

September 20
E. Other psychophysical relations
19. Jaegwon Kim, Multiple realization and the metaphysics of reduction.

September 22
16. C. D. Broad, Mechanism and its alternatives (excerpt).
17. Donald Davidson, Mental events.

September 24
F. Mental causation
22. Jaegwon Kim, The many problems of mental causation (excerpt).
23. Stephen Yablo, Mental causation.
FIRST ESSAY DUE

September 27
PART II. CONSCIOUSNESS
32. Saul A. Kripke, Naming and necessity (excerpt).

September 29
33. Christopher S. Hill, Imaginability, conceivability, possibility, and the mind-body problem (excerpt).
26. Daniel C. Dennett, Quining qualia.

October 4
31. Daniel Stoljar, Two conceptions of the physical.

October 6
47. Ruth Millikan, Biosemantics.
October 11
52. Daniel C. Dennett, True believers: The intentional strategy and why it works.

October 13
C. Internalism and externalism
59. Andy Clark & David J. Chalmers, The extended mind.
SECOND ESSAY DUE
October 18
Chapters 1 Out of our Heads
October 20
Chapters 1  Out of our Heads
October 25
Chapters 2  Out of our Heads
October 27
Chapters 3
November1
Chapters 4
November 3 (no class)
November 8
Chapters 5
November 10
Chapters 6
November 15
Chapter 7
November 17
Chapter 8
November 22-29
slack in the schedule
December 1
Review

THIRD ESSAY DUE

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