Philosophy 3630: Philosophy of Psychology



Professor: Henry Jackman


Class room: GH 4014
Class hours: T, H 2-3:15


Office: 1012 Scott Hall
Office hours: M, W 12:30 - 3 (& by apt.)
Office phone: 530 6186


E-mail: hjackma@uoft02.utoledo.edu
Web Page: http://www.utoledo.edu/homepages/hjackma/


 

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Churchland: Matter and Consciousness

Dennett: Kinds of Minds

Hacking: Rewriting the Soul: Multiple Personality and the Sciences of Memory

Rosenthal (ed): The Nature of Mind


COURSE GOALS

To provide an introduction to contemporary issues in the philosophical study of the mind.


Class Schedule:

 

Unit One: Multiple Personality Disorder and the Construction of Psychological Kinds

Week 1: MPD & Psychological Kinds I

Required: Hacking: Introduction, chpt. 1-2
Recomended: Hacking chpt. 3

Week 2: MPD & Psychological Kinds II

Required: Hacking chpt. 6-10
Recomended: Hacking chpt. 4, 5

Week 3: MPD & Psychological Kinds III

Required: Hacking chpt. 14-18
Recomended: Hacking chpt. 11-13

 

Unit Two: The Mind/Body Problem

Week 4: Dualism

Required: Churchland 1-23
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 1, 4

Week 5: Behaviorism

Required: Churchland 23-26
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt.4, 16

Week 6: The Identity Theory

Required: Churchland 26-35
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt.17, 18, 19

Week 7: Functionalism

Required: Churchland 36-43
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt.21-24

Week 8: Eliminative Materialism

Required: Churchland 43-50.
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 28-30, 60, 61

Week 9: Neuroscience and the Methodological Problem

Required: Churchland 83-98, 123-166
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 48

 

Unit Three: Content, Consciousness & Causation

Week 10: Artificial Intelligence

Required: Churchland: 99-122
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 55

Week 11: The Meaning of Pyschological Terms

Required: Churchland 51-67
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 42, 43

Week 12: Self Consciousness and Other Minds

Required: Churchland 67-82
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 8, 9, 12, 14

 

Unit Four: Consciousness & The Evolution of Mind

Week 13: What Kinds of Minds are There?

Required: Dennett pp. 1-19
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 46, 48

Week 14:Intentionality

Required: Dennett pp. 19-57
Further Reading: Rosenthal chpt. 34-37

Week 15: The Body and its Minds

Required: Dennett pp. 57- 119
Further Reading:

Week 16: The Creation of Thinking

Required: Dennett pp. 119-169
Further Reading:


 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS & GRADING

Students should choose one of the following set of assignments for the class:

Option 1:

Class participation: 10% of grade.

Take home midterm or class presentation: 20% of grade

7-9 page paper: 30% of grade.

Take home final: 40% of grade.

Option 2:

Class participation: 10% of grade.

Take home midterm or class presentation: 20% of grade

8-10 page paper: 35% of grade.

8-10 page paper: 35% of grade.

Option 3:

Class participation: 10% of grade.

Take home midterm or class presentation: 20% of grade

4-5 page paper: 15% of grade.

5-7 page paper: 20% of grade.

8-10 page paper: 35% of grade.

 

Students should let me know which option they choose by the Sept 8th.

Reading Responses

Reading responses are due on the week that the readings are assigned.

Papers

Paper topics must be approved by me, and topics will be suggested for those who can't come up with one's of their own.

Class Presentations

Presentation should run about 20 minutes and be coordinated with me.

Final grades are based on the following scale:



94 - 100% 	A     	 	77-80%			C+
90 - 94% 	A-			73-77%			C
87 - 90%	B+			70-73%			C-
83 - 87%	B			60-70%			D
80 - 83%	B-			Below 60		F


ACADEMIC HONESTY

Students should work together outside of class because talking about the work is an excellent way to learn. However, all work turned in should be original. Any academic dishonesty will be disciplined according to the University of Toledo guidelines in the student handbook.


"IW" Grades

Please note that while I am willing to give "IW" grades, I only do so at a students request, so don't assume that you will be given one simply because you have stopped coming to class.


Escort Service

Years ago Student Government developed the Escort Service to help maintain UT's safety. The escort service phone number is 530-4292 and it is a free service.


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