Computation and Consciousness

2–4 credits · Graduate

This is a graduate philosophy seminar focused on the intersection of computation and human thought (crucially including consciousness). Among the particular issues likely to be discussed are: The Lucas/Penrose arguments that the human mind outstrips every computer; Putnam's argument that computational functionalism is trivial because the notion of physical objects implementing abstract computations is vacuous; McGee's argument that standard Bayesian theories of rationality attribute non-computational powers to humans; The idea that computational approaches to psychology require the "language of thought" hypothesis; The connections between computational functionalism, conceptual role semantics, and the global workspace theories of consciousness. This class is open to graduate students in philosophy, all others need explicit permission. The 2-unit option is only for Philosophy PhDs beyond the second year. All others must enroll in 4 units.