Minds and Machines

Closed

Course

English

48 h

Source

From www.edx.org

More info

12 Sequences
Introductive Level
Starts on November 16, 2020
Ends on February 10, 2021

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Course details

Syllabus

Overview. This class is an introduction to philosophy of mind. Here are some of the questions we’ll
be thinking about:

Are you an “immaterial soul”, distinct from your brain and body?
Alternatively, are you simply a material or physical animal, living in an entirely physical world?
If we (somehow) made a brain that was a perfect molecule-for-molecule replica of your brain,
and (somehow) kept it alive in a tank, would the tank-creature have the same mental life as you?
Do we see ordinary physical objects like lemons and iPhones? And assuming that we do see them at all, do we see them as they really are?
Can consciousness be given a scientific explanation?

Schedule.
Part 1 – Minds and Computers
Lecture 1: Introduction
Lecture 2: The Chinese Room
Lecture 3: The Chinese Room, Continued; Arguments
Lecture 4: The Chinese Room, Continued
Lecture 5: Turing Machines and the Turing Test
Lecture 6: The Turing Test
Assessment 1: First Argument Analysis (10%)
Part 2 – From Dualism to Functionalism
Lecture 7: Dualism
Lecture 8: Dualism, Continued
Lecture 9: Behaviorism
Lecture 10: The Identity Theory
Lecture 11: The Identity Theory, Continued
Lecture 12: Kripke’s Objection
Lecture 13: Functionalism
Lecture 14: Functionalism, Continued
Assessment 2: Midterm Exam (30%)
Part 3 – Minds and Brains
Lecture 15: Knowledge
Lecture 16: Belief
Lecture 17: Belief, Continued
Part 4 – Perception
Lecture 18: Perception
Lecture 19: The Argument from Illusion, and Color Perception
Lecture 20: Color
Assessment 3: Second Argument Analysis (10%)
Part 5 – Consciousness
Lecture 21: Color, Continued; Nagel on Bats
Lecture 22: Nagel on Bats, Continued; the Knowledge Argument
Lecture 23: The Knowledge Argument, Continued; Chalmers’ Dualism
Lecture 24: Chalmers’ Dualism, Continued; Tye on Transparency
Lecture 25: Consciousness Wrap-Up
Assessment 4: Final Exam (50%)

Prerequisite

None.

Instructors

Alex Byrne
Chair of the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
MIT

David Balcarras
Digital Learning Lab Fellow
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Editor

MIT is a world-class educational institution where teaching and research — with relevance to the practical world as a guiding principle — continue to be its primary purpose.

MIT is independent, coeducational, and privately endowed. Its five schools and one college encompass numerous academic departments, divisions and degree-granting programs, as well as interdisciplinary centers, laboratories and programs whose work cuts across traditional departmental boundaries.

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