Philosophy 3

This course is an introduction to the central topics in the philosophy of mind, with a focus on the following questions: What is the mind, and how is it related to the brain or the body? How do our thoughts have content that represents the world? How is the mind shaped by the environment? How do we acquire knowledge about others’ and our own minds? What is it for our mental life to be healthy or ill? In the first half of the course, we will take a close look at the mind-body problem and some of its proposed solutions, including dualism, behaviorism, interpretationism, and functionalism. In the second half of the course, we will explore issues at the intersection of philosophy of mind and other disciplines: mind and language, knowledge of the mind, and mental health and disorders.