Topics in the Philosophy of Mind and Cognition - ARTS3370
Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
School: School of Humanities and Languages
Course Outline: School of Humanities & Languages
Campus: Sydney
Career: Undergraduate
Units of Credit: 6
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3
Enrolment Requirements:
Prerequisite: 24 units of credit in the Philosophy stream
CSS Contribution Charge: 1 (more info)
Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule
Further Information: See Class Timetable
View course information for previous years.
Description
Subject Area: Philosophy
The mind stands out from the rest of nature because of its ability to represent the world. Other natural or artificial systems interact with their environment, but only certain animals seem able to believe that things are a certain way, or to desire that things be a certain way, or to intend to make things be a certain way. This course considers some of the questions raised by these phenomena. How is it that our minds can register the layout of our environment in perception? How is it that minds can, in thought, represent the world as being in a certain way? And how is it that minds can have an impact upon the world — as they do, when we act intentionally? Although emphasis will be given to the lively recent research these questions have sparked, we will also consider historically important attempts to address them.