Philosophy of Mind Journal Entries:
At the beginning of the semester create a Google account, and then create a single Google doc titled last name Mind. The title of the document is up in the left hand corner. All of your written work for the semester will be put into this document.
Video: Creating a Google Doc
Each week, you will add a writing assignment to this document. (Do not create separate documents for the different assignments). There are detailed instructions about Google accounts and documents on the syllabus. You will have one Google doc and all of these journal entries will be added to it. Each week, put the new one at the top of the document and give that section the whole, exact title from the instructions in bold print. So for the first one, the title would be: 1 The Mind/Body Problem.
Grading Criteria for the Journal: I won't be giving detailed individual comments to most of your entries. I will give some feedback early in the semester, but after that, it will be up to the student to follow these instructions:
1) All of the entries must be completed. Any missing projects will result in a proportional reduction in the overall grade.
2) All of the journal entries must be completed on time. The time and date when it was submitted is available to me in the Revision History tab of Google Docs. Any revisions that occur after the due date will also be evident in the Revision History view. Late assignments will not be accepted.
3) All of the questions in the individual projects must be addressed. And they must be addressed specifically and thoroughly. Copy and paste the full particular assignment directly into the document, then answer each question directly and at length. Entries that fail to quote and answer each question will be graded down.
4) It will vary from project to project, but doing a thorough and acceptable job of addressing the questions will typically take at least 300 words. A few sentences or two short paragraphs won't be sufficient.
5) The entries must be completely free of spelling, grammar, and structure errors. They must meet the standards of written college English. Any entries that have spelling, grammar, and writing structure errors will not receive credit. Entries that are a single block of text with no paragraphs or thesis sentence organization will not receive credit.
6) The entries must reflect a clear understanding of the arguments, concepts, principles, and distinctions that the philosopher in the video makes. The entries must be long enough and detailed enough to reflect your understanding.
7) If you are in doubt, write more. Take the opportunity to expand on the topic and questions under consideration. Offer some of your own ideas in addition to addressing the project questions. Entries that are only 5 sentences long, for example, will not receive credit.
During the semester, and at the end, I will review all of your entries. The grade on this portion of the coursework will be proportional to the extent to which they meet all of these criteria.
Grades for journal entries will not appear in the Canvas Gradebook. (The Canvas Gradebook will not reflect all of the grades for the course or your overall grade).
Note on ChatGPT and Large language models: 1) using LLMs or AI systems to write these entries is against the academic honesty policy. See syllabus for AI plagiarism policy. And 2) these questions have been designed so that they will not be adequately answered for the purposes of our course by ChatGPT or other Large Language Models.
Here are the assignments:
1. The Mind/Body Problem:
Famous philosopher of mind and NYU professor Ned Block discusses the Mind/Body Problem here. At the bottom there is a drop down under "Formats" that says, "Long Video." Click on that, watch the video carefully, and answer these questions in the Google Doc.
What is the mind/body problem, as Block characterizes it here? What are the two different problems he describes, how are they different, and how do we go about solving them?
Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. Within the document, put the heading 1 Mind/Body Problem over your Block piece. (The title of the whole document should still be last name Mind). It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, Jan. 28. See the syllabus for specific instructions on how to create a Google Doc and share it with me as a collaborator at mccormick@csus.edu
2. Materialism Searle-Is a Person All Material? At the bottom, there is a drop down under "Formats" that says, "Long Video." Explain how Searle answers the question here, "Is the person all material?" What form does his argument against immaterialism take here? Explain.
Add a new entry to the top of your last name Mind Google Doc titled 2 Materialism. Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59, Sunday, Feb. 4.
3. Neurons: Go to this video, watch it, and take careful notes: How Do Human Brains Work?
Add a new entry to the top of your last name Mind Google Doc titled 3 Neurons. Answer these questions: According to LeDoux in this discussion, how does one neuron activate another? How frequently do neurons activate? And what’s the significance of their different activation rates? Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, Feb. 11.
4. Physicalism- David Papineau on physicalism. Listen to the mp3 from Philosophy Bits. Add a new entry to the top of your Google Doc titled 4 Physicalism. Answer these questions: From Papineau’s perspective, what’s the argument for the conclusion that non-physical causes cannot bring about physical effects? How does this relate to his thesis in favor of physicalism? How does Papineau explain the Mary case away? Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, Feb. 18.
5. Brains and Freewill: In a new entry at the top of your Mind Google Doc, titled 7 Brains and Freewill, answer these questions from this video with Christof Koch: Science and Freewill There is a drop down menu under "Formats." Click on Long Video. Study this discussion. What is the problem with the claim that there is libertarian freewill, given the scientific evidence, according to Christof Koch? Are we free, as he sees it? What does he assume about freewill if we were to have it? What would it be like physically? What sort of view about the mind does believing in freewill commit us to, according to Koch? Answer these questions in a new entry in your Google Doc at the top labeled 5 Brains and Freewill Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, Feb. 25.
6. Philosophers on Next-Generation Large Language Models No journal entry this week, but for your consideration:
Consider the 8 short pieces written by philosophers here about LLMs. Philosophers on Next Generation LLMs.
7. Consciousness- Marvin Minsky on Consciousness In a new entry at the top of your Mind Google Doc, titled 7 Consciousness, answer these questions: According to Minsky, in their analysis of thinking machines what mistakes about immediate sensation are philosophers making? What about the third person/first person distinction?
Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59, Sunday, March 10.
8. Reduction- Colin McGinn Is Consciousness Irreducible? There is a drop down menu on the bottom left labeled "Formats" Click on that menu and go to "Long Interview (10:09)" Study this discussion. McGinn gives an important answer to the question "Can consciousness be reduced?" in the video. What are the various reductionist approaches and non-reductionist approaches as he sees them? Where does his view fit? Explain his justification. Title this section 8 Reduction. Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, March 17.
9. The Science of Consciousness-- Christof Koch How Brain Scientists Think About Consciousness In an entry at the top titled 9 Science of Consciousness, answer these questions: Koch explains a neuroscientist's approach to studying consciousness. Give some examples of the sort of experiments that they conduct and what they reveal about consciousness that he describes. How does this approach differ from the less empirical, traditional approaches of philosophers of mind? What are the philosophical implications of the results he derives? Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, April 7.
10. Big Minds David Chalmers Is Consciousness Fundamental? On the bottom left, there is a drop down menu that says, "Formats." Click on that menu, and play the Long Interview. Study this discussion. In a section titled 10 Big Minds, answer these questions: What is Chalmers's view about the relationship of the material world to consciousness? How could it be fundamental on Chalmers' view? What is being "fundamental"? Where does it fit into the world? Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, April 14.
11. Qualia Study the video below. In an entry titled 11 Qualia, answer these questions: what is Ramachandran's view about solving the fundamental problems of consciousness? What are the fundamental problems, according to Ramachandran? How does he differentiate his view from competing views? Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, April 21.
12. Brains and Morality. Study this video below from Patricia Churchland carefully. What is her thesis with regard to the source of morality? What is the origin of morality in humans? Are we naturally selfish? Why or why not? How is evolution related? Do moral values come from religion? What is big learning? Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, April 28 with the title 12 Morality
13. Aliens Nick Bostrom--Where are the aliens? Why does Nick Bostrom think that the existence of alien life is unlikely? What is the observation selection effect? What is the Fermi Paradox? What is Bostrom's answer to it? Why does Bostrom think it would be a bad thing if we found alien life? Answer these questions in a new entry in your Google Doc at the top labeled 13 Aliens Your essay should be 200-400 words. It should be free of grammatical, spelling, and composition errors. See the Philosophy Department Writing Guidelines for guidance. It should be completed by 11:59 pm, Sunday, May 5.