McCormick Philosophy - Philosophy of Mind Syllabus

Philosophy of Mind

Prof. Matt McCormick

Phil 153, sect. 1, Spring 2025

T Th, 12:00-1:155 DH 110

Catalog Description: Rival theories of the nature of the mind and mental activity, including dualism, materialism, functionalism. Focuses on difficulties in achieving a theoretical understanding of familiar psychological concepts such as belief, sensation, emotion, intention.

Required Text: All readings are linked online in the schedule or are in the Readings folder in Google.

The Course: The project of expanding human knowledge and understanding has steadily expanded to encompass much of our world, but one surprising and persistent question remains: what is the nature of consciousness. While neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy have answered many questions and promise to reveal more, there are still important debates about several questions: How is a mind constructed? What is it made of? What sorts of things can have minds? Can computers or machines think? Are there even such things as minds? How does the mind relate to brain? Can mind be reduced to brain? This course is about philosophical attempts to understand the mind and answer these questions. We will consider several rival theories and the concepts, objections, and concerns that have dominated recent philosophical discussions about the mind.

These goals will be met and assessed with reading assignments, tests, vocabulary assessment, quizzes, paper assignments, class discussions, lectures, and philosophical research.

Grading:

Reading and Lecture Quizzes: (12) 5% each (We will take the best 12 out of 13 quizzes)

Midterm and Final: 20% each

Structure of the course: This course is flipped. All of the course lectures are on YouTube here. Each week, students will study the lectures and the readings, linked on the schedule here And then they will take the lecture and reading quiz in class when we begin discussing the topic. Then we will have an in-person discussion section. In this discussion section we will address students' questions about the material, we will supplement the lectures, and we will expand on the concepts, arguments, and issues from the lectures and readings.

Course Schedule includes links to all of the readings, all of the lectures, and all of the assignments.

Course Policies are all linked on my webpage.

Communication: all course communication will be conducted through students' name@csus.edu email addresses. Check that email daily.

Academic Honesty Policy:

No cheating of any sort will be tolerated in this course. All sources must be cited and given appropriate credit. The author of any information from the Internet or another student from class must be given credit; using such information without indicating the source is stealing someone else's hard work and it is immoral. Cutting and pasting someone else's work is not acceptable. It is also unacceptable to make minor revisions in language to disguise someone else's sentences/ideas. From the university policy manual: Plagiarism at Sacramento State includes but is not limited to:

The act of incorporating into one’s own work the ideas, words, sentences, paragraphs, or parts thereof, or the specific substance of another’s work without giving appropriate credit thereby representing the product as entirely one's own. Examples include not only word-for-word copying, but also the "mosaic" (i.e., interspersing a few of one’s own words while, in essence, copying another’s work), the paraphrase (i.e., rewriting another’s work while still using the other’s fundamental idea or theory); fabrication (i.e., inventing or counterfeiting sources), ghost-writing (i.e., submitting another’s work as one’s own) and failure to include quotation marks on material that is otherwise acknowledged; and

Representing as one’s own another’s artistic or scholarly works such as musical compositions, computer programs, photographs, paintings, drawing, sculptures, or similar works.

Students are allowed to discuss lectures and even assignments with each other. Students are encouraged to collaborate on many assignments. But every students must do his or her own work. Be cautious of sharing your notes, ideas, work, assignments, or papers with other students. Once you have given them a copy of or access to your work, you cannot control what they might do with it. If two or more students' work are found to violate the policy, all of the students will receive the same punishment, even if one did the work and the other plagiarized.

Here is the university policy on academic honesty:

"The attempt by a student to cheat on an exam or other academic assignment or to engage in plagiarism is a violation of a fundamental principle of academic honesty and integrity and will not be tolerated in the University. Formal procedures exist for dealing with these cases and penalties will be imposed on students who are found guilty of academic dishonesty. In the event of expulsion, suspension or probation, a notation is made on the student’s transcript. Suspension and probation notations remain on the transcript for the life of the suspension/probation. For information, contact the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs."

All students will be responsible for reading and following the university honesty, plagiarism, and cheating policies. They are posted at:

http://www.csus.edu/umanual/AcademicHonestyPolicyandProcedures.htm

Students with Disabilities

If you have a disability and require accommodations, you need to provide disability documentation to SSWD, Lassen Hall 1008, 916-278-6955. Please discussion your accommodation needs with me after class or during my office hours early in the semester.