Course schedule and readings

There are about 18 lectures in this course. The following schedule is only provisional.

Entries marked [B] are optional background reading. They provide some interesting and useful information about the topic we are studying. If you have time, you can read through them very quickly before a lecture.
Entries marked [A] are optional advanced material for students who want to gain a deeper understanding of the topics.
There is no course text, but some (but not all) topics we discuss are covered in Nigel Warburton's Philosophy: The Basics. It is a short and clearly written book and I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a bit more about philosophy.

The schedule might change!

Lecture 1 : What is philosophy?

A brief discussion
Lecture 1 handout (PDF) - same as the intro page above
[B] "Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates" produced by the American Philosophical Association
[B] "Introduction" of Warburton.

You should start reading topics 1-4 of Part I of these notes. The first problem set will be about argument analysis, to be finished over Chinese New Year.

Lecture 2 : Mental states

Some brief notes
[A] The entry on "Consciousness and Intentionality" in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
[B] Some cases of phantom pain (You can read only the first four paragraphs.)

Lecture 3-6 : Substance dualism

Arguments for dualism [powerpoint file]
[B] "Descartes' Life and Works"
Notes on the Second Meditation [James Pryor]
[B] About Rosemary Brown
Descartes' Meditation - Meditations II paragraph 1-7 (until "called the human body"), Mediations VI paragraph 19
The continuity argument for materialism [James Pryor]
Causal arguments for materialism [James Pryor]
Arguments against dualism [powerpoint file]
Excerpts from Paul Churchland (1988) Matter and Consciousness MIT Press. [Reserve copy available for borrowing from Dept office]

Lectures 7-8 : The computer model of the mind

Excerpt from Turing's 1950 paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence".
[B] The entry on "modern history of computing" in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
[B] Andrew Hodges' site on Turing
[A] Ned Block - "The Mind as the Software of the Brain"
Powerpoint files : the computer model some issues related to Turing's paper

Lecture 9 : Question and answer session + writing essays

Some advice

27 feb 2003 : break. No lecture

Required readings for the next two topics You can borrow hardcopies from Mrs. Lau at the Philosophy General Office [after Feb 20]. Please read them before the lecture.

[Lecture 10-13] Perry, "A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality"
[Lecture 15-18] Feinberg and Shafer-Landau, "Part IV: Introduction"
[Lecture 15-18] Holbach, "The Illusion of Free Will"
[Lecture 15-18] Ayer, "Freedom and Necessity," from Philosophical Essays
[Lecture 15-18] Stace, "The Problem of Freewill," from Religion and the Modern Mind
[Lecture 15-18] Chisholm, "Human Freedom and the Self"
[Lecture 15-18] Kane, "Free Will: Ancient Disputes, New Themes"

Lectures 10-13 : Personal identity

Lecture notes 8-10 at MITOCW
[B] Some basic information about the two hemispheres
[A] "Personal identity" in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Powerpoint files : 1 2 3

Lecture 14 : Q&A

Comments on some essays

Lectures 15-18 : Freewill

Lecture notes 12-14 at MITOCW
[A] "Freewill" in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
[A] Ted Honderich's web site of freewill
Powerpoint files : 1 2

[11,15 Apr] - Additional notes on freewil : 1, 2 [PDF]

Other interesting sites

Lecture notes by Colin Allen
The Philosophical Gourmet Report - a ranking of philosophy departments.