2-IKV-114 Introduction to Philosophy of Mind

Evaluation during the course: active participation, test

Concluding evaluation: test, essay

Subject aim: Subject aim is to familiarise students with the main philosophical conceptions and approaches to the problems of the mind/body relation.

Brief curriculum of the subject:

Mind/Body problem - characteristics of mental states; intentionality; first- and third-person perspectives; intentional states and consciousness

Dualism – substance dualism, Platonic dualism, Cartesian dualism; problems for dualism

The Mind/Brain identity theory – historical background, the type-type identity theory and the token-token identity theory, strengths of and problems for the identity theory

Analytical behaviourism contrasted with methodological behaviourism; Hempel’s “hard” behaviourism; Ryle’s “soft” behaviourism

Functionalism – metaphysical functionalism, psycho- functionalism, computational; functionalism, strengths of and problems for functionalism

Psycho-physical causation – reasons for actions as causes; causal theory of intentional action (D. Davidson); anomal monism and objections to it

Problem of other minds – induction and the argument from analogy; Wittgenstein’s attack on the argument; other minds problem and the impossibility of a logically private language

Personal identity as physical continuity – personal identity as psychological continuity

Literature:

Gáliková, S.: Úvod do filozofie mysle, IRIS, Bratislava, 2001

Maslin, K. T.: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, Polity Press 2001

Rakova, M.: Philosophy of Mind A–Z, Edinburgh University Press 2006

Rybár, J. a kol: Kognitívne vedy, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2002

Language in which the subject is taught: Slovak

Date of the last sheet revision: 29. 6 .2007