The Mind

Fall 2002 MW, 2:00-2:50, Main Building Rm. 142

Instructors: Dr. Max Deutsch

Main Building Rm. 301

medeutsc@hkusua.hku.hk

Dr. Ron Mallon

Main Building Rm. 306

rjmallon@hkucc.hku.hk

Office

Hours: Max Deutsch TBA

Ron Mallon Thursday 10 AM - 12 Noon or by appt.

Texts: The Character of Mind, by Colin McGinn

Reserve Readings as assigned

Course Description:

The human mind is the nexus of a number of great mysteries. In this course we will investigate some or all of the following questions: How does the mind relate to the matter of the brain? What would it mean for the mind to survive the death and destruction of the body, as many religions believe it does? What is the nature of human consciousness? Do we know our own minds more directly and more certainly than we know the minds of others? Is it even possible to know that there exist minds distinct from one’s own? Can computers or robots be made to think and feel? Do animals have beliefs and other mental states? Are there necessary connections between our thoughts and those things external to our minds that we take some of our thoughts to be about?

Course Requirements:

The course requirements are simple. They consist in:

In class mid-term quiz: 25%

In class final quiz: 25%

Class paper: 35%

Tutorial Work: 15%

Plagiarism:

Copying any work without proper citation is a serious offense that will be punished. This includes (1) the use of books or articles, (2) the use of resource materials from the World Wide Web, (3) the use of the work of another student, and (4) the use of class notes from this or other classes. Persons found presenting another person’s work as their own will be subject to a penalty not to exceed a failing grade for the course.

Topics:

Topic 1: Introduction: Mysteries of the Mind

Lecturer: Max Deutsch and Ron Mallon

Readings: N/A

Topic 2: Personal Identity: Death, Splitting, and Survival

Lecturer: Ron Mallon

Readings: McGinn, Chap. 1, pp. 1-8 and reserve readings in the Department office

Topic 3: Mind and Body—Dualism and Materialism

Lecturer: Max Deutsch

Readings: McGinn, Chap.1, pp. 8-16 and McGinn, Chap. 2, pp. 17-23

Topic 4: One’s Own Mind and the Minds of Others

Topic 5: The Varieties of Materialism: Identity Theories, Behaviorism, Functionalism, and Supervenience

Topic 6: Consciousness and the Anti-Materialist Thought Experiments

Topic 7: The Attitudes: Internalism and Externalism

Topic 8: “Naturalizing” Intentionality

Topic 9: “Yeah, but Deep Blue Couldn’t Relish Its Victory”: The Possibility of Thinking Machines