Rethinking the Mind
Ashley McDowell
Spring 2009
MWF 11:50 – 1:05
Office: Humphrey House 202
Office
phone: 337-7077
Cell phone: 303-6321 (record this for meeting
safety net)
email: mcdowell[at]kzoo.edu or ashley.mcdowell[at]gmail.com
Office
hours: MWF 3:00 – 4:00 and by
appointment, except on Thursdays (unless there is an emergency)
Moodle: Find the
course at https://moodle.kzoo.edu/ and log on
Email: IÕll send messages to class by your K
email address
Readings and
links to assigned videos posted on Moodle
Description:
This
interdisciplinary, philosophy-based course – a pilot sophomore seminar
– connects philosophy of mind with cutting-edge empirical work. The
course is utterly contemporary: virtually all readings have been published
within the last five years.
Pioneering
research and writing in areas such as neuroscience, cognitive science,
evolutionary biology, psychology, and Òexperimental philosophyÓ motivate a
changing approach to minds. This innovative work will be joined to
philosophical thinking to illuminate subjects like rationality, free will, religion,
ethics, the nature of minds and selves, and knowledge of our own and othersÕ
minds. Implications extend to controversial problems in artificial
intelligence, punishment and justice, theism and atheism, treatment of mental
disorders, and "neuroenhancement".
Our
study will include implications of the "new mind" in a global context.
Advances in philosophy and science of the mind can give us insight into
different culturesÕ approaches to minds and the mental. They can also help us
think about issues in race, gender, sexuality, violence, tolerance, and
identity. You are embarking on a voyage into a complex world, which calls for understanding
of your own and othersÕ religious beliefs,
self-identity, character and personality, prejudice and antagonism, empathy and
compassion. That complex world, along with our understanding of it, is changing
at lightning speed, which makes rethinking the mind in advance imperative.
Grade structure:
- Participation: Moodle forum posts, in-class participation,
demonstrated preparedness: 30%
- First creative
project: 10%
- Second creative
project and project presentation: 15%
- Two oral exams:
20% each
- Guided class
session: 5%