24.09
Minds and Machines
Introduction to philosophy of mind. Can computers think? Is the mind an immaterial thing? Alternatively, is the mind the brain? How can creatures like ourselves think thoughts that are about things? Can I know whether your experiences are the same as mine when we both look at raspberries, fire trucks, and stoplights? Can consciousness be given a scientific explanation?
Fall 2011
Topics
- Introduction
- Searle against artificial intelligience (AI): the Chinese room argument
- The Chinese room argument (cont.)
- The Chinese room argument (cont.) and the Turing test
- The Turing test (cont.)
- Computational complexity (guest lecture by Scott Aaronson)
- Dualism
- Dualism (cont.)
- From dualism to behaviorism
- From behaviorism to the identity theory
- The identity theory (cont.)
- Kripke’s Objection
- Functionalism
- Review session
- From functionalism to externalism
- Externalism (cont.)
- From externalism to perception
- Perception: Valberg’s puzzle of experience
- Perception, consciousness, and intentionality
- Perception, consciousness, and intentionality (cont.)
- Jackson’s knowledge argument
- Nagel on bats
- Consciousness and its place in nature
- Consciousness and its place in nature (cont.)
- Free will
Readings
- SES #: 1 · TOPICS: Introduction · READINGS AND LINKS: No Readings
- [Chalmers] Searle, John R. “Can Computers Think?” Chapter 63.
- [Chalmers] Descartes, René. “The Passions of the Soul.” Chapter 2.
- ———. Meditations II and VI in Meditations on First Philosophy . Translated and edited by John Cottingham. Cambridge University Press, 1985. ISBN: 9780521338578.
- [Chalmers] Ryle, Gilbert. “Descartes’ Myth.” Chapter 5.
- ———. The Concept of Mind [1949]. New ed. University of Chicago Press, 2000. ISBN: 9780226732961.
- [Chalmers] Smullyan, Raymond M. “An Unfortunate Dualist.” Chapter 4.
- ———. This Book Needs No Title: A Budget of Little Paradoxes . Prentice-Hall, 1980, pp. 53–5. ISBN: 9780139190353.
- Byrne, Alex. “Behaviorism.” In A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind . Edited by S. D. Guttenplan. Blackwell, 1996. ISBN: 9780631199960.
- SES #: 10 · TOPICS: From behaviorism to the identity theory · READINGS AND LINKS: [Chalmers] Smart, J. J. C. “Sensations and Brain Processes.” Chapter 9.
- SES #: 11 · TOPICS: The identity theory (cont.) · READINGS AND LINKS: [Chalmers] Place, U. T. “Is Consciousness a Brain Process?” Chapter 8.
- [Chalmers] Putnam, Hilary. “The Nature of Mental States.” Chapter 11.
- [Chalmers] ———. “Troubles with Functionalism.” Chapter 14.
- SES #: 14 · TOPICS: Review session · READINGS AND LINKS: No Readings
- [Chalmers] Burge, Tyler. “Individualism and the Mental.” Chapter 55.
- [Chalmers] Clark, Andy, and David J. Chalmers. “The Extended Mind.” Chapter 59.
- [Chalmers] Putnam, Hilary. “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’.” Chapter 54.
- SES #: 18 · TOPICS: Perception: Valberg’s puzzle of experience · READINGS AND LINKS: Valberg, J. J. The Puzzle Of Experience. Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN: 9780198242918.
- Byrne, Alex. “Intentionality.” In The Philosophy of Science: An Encylopedia . Edited by Sahorta Sarkar and Jessica Pfeifer. Routledge, 2006. ISBN: 9780415977098.
- [Chalmers] Tye, Michael. “Visual Qualia and Visual Content Revisited.” Chapter 42.
- [Chalmers] Peacocke, Christopher. “Sensation And The Content Of Experience: A Distinction.” Chapter 41.
- [Chalmers] Jackson, Frank. “Epiphenomenal Qualia.” Chapter 28.
- SES #: 22 · TOPICS: Nagel on bats · READINGS AND LINKS: [Chalmers] Nagel, Thomas. “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” Chapter 25.
- SES #: 23 · TOPICS: Consciousness and its place in nature · READINGS AND LINKS: [Chalmers] Chalmers, David J. “Consciousness and Its Place in Nature.” Chapter 27.
- [Chalmers] Chalmers, David J. “Consciousness and Its Place in Nature.” Chapter 27.
- Reading, discussing, and writing about the assigned readings are the central activities of this class. There is a reading assignment for each lecture. Some are (a) very difficult, or (b) very long, or (c) both. All demand careful study. All should be completed before each lecture as the lecture will often presuppose familiarity with the material in the texts.
- Attendance at all lectures and all recitation sections is required . Lectures will introduce important material not in the readings. As mentioned above, one goal of the course is to help students develop their critical and argumentative skills. Because of this—and to meet the requirements for a Communication-Intensive course—participation in section is an especially important component of the course.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: None U (Spring) 3-0-9 units. HASS-H; CI-H
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2011
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.