Philosophy of Mind 323M, Spring 2020

M/W 11:30-1:00 WAG 308

Professor Michelle Montague

Office: WAG 317
Office hours: M/W 10:30-11:30
email: montague@austin.utexas.edu

DESCRIPTION

We will examine some central issues in the philosophy of mind.

REQUIREMENTS

The objective is to understand the main issues, the main arguments, and to hone general thinking and
writing skills.

(1) Class participation 10%

In order to get full credit here, you must come to class (two unexcused absence will be allowed).
Attendance will be taken. For each missed class after two unexcused absences are taken, your mark
will drop a full letter grade. (To help foster class discussion, I will often divide you into small groups.)

(2) 1 pg. response piece 10%, due in class Wednesday, February 19th.

(3) Midterm, Wednesday, March 11th, in class exam 30%

(4) Outline of Final Essay 10%. Due on Wednesday, April 22nd. The outline will be graded credit/no
credit (10% or 0%). On the due date, I will have you bring a hard copy of your outline to class,
exchange it with a paper partner. Each will write comments on the other’s outline. To get credit for
your outline, you must turn in your outline, with your paper partner’s comments on it, with your final
draft.

(5) Final Essay, 8-10 pages, 40%. Due on Wednesday, May 6th.

(6) Late policy. I will not accept lateness (zero-credit) unless you have a documented excuse, such as
illness, death in the family, etc.

(7) Plagiarism. Students found to have plagiarized in one assignment will receive no credit for that
assignment. Students found to have plagiarized more than once will fail the course and may be
referred to the Dean, who may wish to impose further sanctions. What counts as plagiarism?
Copying any material that is not your own without attribution. It’s no excuse if that copying is
inadvertent. (If you take notes, it’s your responsibility to make sure you record the origin of any
texts you copy.) If you go to a website and simply paraphrase what you find there without citing
the source, that's plagiarism too.

(8) Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of
Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259 (voice) or
232-2937 (video phone) or http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd.

SCHEDULE OF READINGS

1 Consciousness
A1 Nagel, T. (1974) ‘What Is It Like to Be a Bat? Philosophical Review 83: 435-50.
A2 Searle, J. (1992) The Rediscovery of the Mind, ch. 2 (MIT press).
A3 Strawson, G. (2006) ‘Realistic Monism: Why Physicalism entails Panpsychism’
A4 McGinn, C. (1989) ‘Can we solve the mind-body problem?’ Mind Vol XCVIII, 391: 349-366.

2 Consciousness & Space

A5 McGinn, C. (1995) ‘Consciousness and Space’ Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2, No. 3: 220-
30.
A6 James, W. (1892) ‘The perception of space’ Psychology (New York: Henry Holt and Company).

3 The Self
A9 Williams, B. (1970) ‘The Self and the Future’ Philosophical Review Vol. 79, No. 2: 161-180.
A10 Parfit, D. ‘Why our Identity is not what Matters’
A11 Strawson, G. ‘Against Narrativity’
A12 Schechtman, M. (2001) ‘Empathic Access: The Missing Ingredient in Personal Identity’,
Philosophical Explorations

A13 Nagel, T. (1970) ‘Death’ Nous Vol. 4, No. 1: 73-80.

A14 Strawson, G (2018) ‘I Have No Future’ Things That Bother Me (New York: New York Review
Books).

4 Conscious/unconscious distinction
A15 Merikle, P. and Daneman, M (2000). ‘Conscious vs. unconscious perception’ in M. Gassangia
(ed.) The New Cognitive Neurosciences. (MIT Press).
A16 Gladwell, M. (2006) Blink, ch. 2: The Locked Door: The Secret Life of Snap Decisions
A17 Dominus, S. (2017) ‘When the Revolution Came for Amy Cuddy’, New York Times, October 18,
2017.