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Course Content and Outcomes Guides (CCOG)

CCOG for PHL 212 archive revision 201704

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Effective Term:
Fall 2017 through Summer 2021
Course Number:
PHL 212
Course Title:
Introduction to Philosophy of Mind
Credit Hours:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Introduces historical and contemporary thought in the philosophy of mind, considering traditional philosophical questions about the nature of the human person in the light of recent research in the cognitive sciences. Includes reading pertinent philosophical and related texts, and may involve museum and research facility field trips (except in online classes), the informal replication of experiments demonstrating interesting aspects of conscious experience, and the utilization of pertinent online, film, and other contemporary media accounts. Features texts from the literature of philosophy of mind, such as discussions of brains in vats, zombies, the plight of color-blind neuroscientists, and what it's like to be a bat. Audit available.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon successful completion students should be able to:

  • Read and critically assess important writings in the philosophy of mind and related disciplines,in order to understand the variety of historical and contemporary interpretations of the nature of mind.
  • Recognize and reflect on major issues pertaining to the relationship of thinking and the brain, in order to better participate in contemporary discussions of the nature of the human person in popular and academic literature.
  • Become familiar with and utilize concepts and language for discussing the nature of mind in the light of contemporary neuroscience, in order to better communicate an understanding of human activity in the context of current culture.
  • Reflect on the relationship of philosophy of mind to views in ethics, aesthetics and religion, in order to reflect on the importance of understanding the mind as well as other fundamental life concerns.

Integrative Learning

Students completing an associate degree at Portland Community College will be able to reflect on one’s work or competencies to make connections between course content and lived experience.

Course Activities and Design

Reading, writing and discussion based on key texts in philosophy of mind. Instructor lectures. Viewing and discussion of pertinent film and video materials. Individual and team student projects. Consideration of behavioral and thought experiments of the kind used in philosophy of mind. Possible field trips to lectures, films, museums, other events or institutions. Formal written papers

Outcome Assessment Strategies

For all outcomes listed in “Learning Outcomes” above, assessment will include, as appropriate:--Evaluation of attendance and participation in class activities--Evaluation of written discussion materials--Written testing on key ideas--Evaluation of individual and team student class projects--Evaluation of formal written papers

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

Themes: the nature of the person, the relationship of body to mind. Concepts: person, mind, body, consciousness, sentience, thought. Issues: whether the mind and body are two separate things or are rather the one reducible to the other, whether neuro-biology—especially brain science—can explain mental phenomena. Skills: recognizing and understanding key texts, ideas and authors in the philosophy of mind,thinking critically about key issues in the philosophy of mind