Phil. 31157: Mind, Representation, and Reality (Spring 2026)

Basic info.

Instructor: Griffin Pion (he/him)

Email: gpion@gradcenter.cuny.edu

Office hours: Wednesday 10:45–11:45 AM, NAC 6/334B; or over zoom by appointment

Course meeting: Mondays & Wednesdays, 9:30–10:45 AM, NAC 6/314

Course description

Most things in the universe simply exist. A mountain doesn't "point" to anything; a pebble isn't "about" the ocean. They are just physical objects occupying space. But your mind is different. Your thoughts, beliefs, and desires have a unique property: they are often about something else. This creates a profound philosophical puzzle. If the brain is just a collection of neurons and chemical reactions, how can a physical state "reach out" to represent a distant star, a mathematical truth, or a person on the other side of the planet? How can a thought be "directed" toward a dragon that doesn't even exist?

In Mind, Representation, and Reality, we investigate this puzzle. We will peel back the surface of our everyday experience to explore how philosophers have tried to bridge the gap between internal states and external reality. We will focus on two foundational questions:

• The Nature of Mental States: What sort of thing is a thought? Is it a nonphysical substance, a sort of behavior, a brain state, or something else entirely?

• The Mechanism of Representation: What provides the "glue" between a mental state and the world? Do the meanings of your thoughts live inside your head, or are they determined by the world around you? 

Please see the full syllabus here. 

(Image credit: M.C. Escher (1956), Bond of Union)