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.