The course of Philosophy of Mind is part of the program in Cognitive Sciences of Communication and Action (master level) and is included among the characterizing training activities. The course will introduce some central topics in empirically informed philosophy of mind including the functionalist view of the mind, the nature of mental representations, the mechanistic approach to cognitive neuroscience, the naturalization of consciousness and self-consciousness, the possibility of a clinical cognitive neuroscience.
Upon completion of the course students
- will have gained familiarity with some of the most important issues in the philosophy of mind driven by cognitive sciences;
- will be able to critically evaluate different positions on core themes of the course;
- will develop a critical thought on philosophical matters involving the mind, and the ability to build rigorous, clear arguments using an appropriate scientific and philosophical vocabulary.
Upon completion of the course students
- will have gained familiarity with some of the most important issues in the philosophy of mind driven by cognitive sciences;
- will be able to critically evaluate different positions on core themes of the course;
- will develop a critical thought on philosophical matters involving the mind, and the ability to build rigorous, clear arguments using an appropriate scientific and philosophical vocabulary.
teacher profile teaching materials
The mind that psychologists and neuroscientists are concerned with today is the child of the cognitivist revolution and is therefore defined as a set of information-processing processes carried out in the brains of complex organisms. What makes the cognitivist investigation of the mind peculiar is its being suspended between two worlds: on the one hand, the ordinary image of ourselves as persons, that is, as subjects of conscious experiences, intentional states and deliberate action; on the other hand, the subpersonal sphere of brain events, the subject of neuroscience. This course aims to introduce the reader to the cognitivist study of the mind, but always against the background of the philosophical effort to shed light on the relationships that link these different ways in which we describe ourselves.
W. Bechtel and Linus Ta-Lun Huang, Philosophy of Neuroscience, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2022.
Programme
Over the past few years, philosophy of science has become increasingly "local," shifting its focus from the general characteristics of scientific practice to the theories, methods and problems of scientific disciplines. The philosophies of psychology, neuroscience and cognitive science arise from this greater delimitation.The mind that psychologists and neuroscientists are concerned with today is the child of the cognitivist revolution and is therefore defined as a set of information-processing processes carried out in the brains of complex organisms. What makes the cognitivist investigation of the mind peculiar is its being suspended between two worlds: on the one hand, the ordinary image of ourselves as persons, that is, as subjects of conscious experiences, intentional states and deliberate action; on the other hand, the subpersonal sphere of brain events, the subject of neuroscience. This course aims to introduce the reader to the cognitivist study of the mind, but always against the background of the philosophical effort to shed light on the relationships that link these different ways in which we describe ourselves.
Core Documentation
A. Kind, Philosophy of Mind: The Basics. Routledge, London 2020.W. Bechtel and Linus Ta-Lun Huang, Philosophy of Neuroscience, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2022.
Type of delivery of the course
Face-to-face lessons.Type of evaluation
Verification of learning will take place through an oral test.