OVERVIEW

This course aims to present the most relevant problems of the philosophy of mind and the main concepts related to it. The nature of the mind, the attempts toward a clear conceptual definition of it, the questions concerning the possibility of a scientific knowledge of mental phenomena will be addressed in relation to central issues of the philosophy of psychology. The purpose is  to enable a reflection on the cultural consequences of the various conceptions of the mind.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will receive essential information about the contemporary philosophical discussion on human mind and on the most relevant concepts involved in it. They will be expected to acquire the capacity to reflect in a critical way about philosophical issues, particularly those concerning the conceptual presuppositions of psychological research, and to use suitable vocabulary to discuss concrete cases and examples. Students will learn to use their skills to build up opinions about philosophical themes founded on consistent and solid arguments.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students will be aware of the problematic nature of the human mind, of the basic concepts involved in its understanding, of the relationship between human minds, animal minds and artificial minds; they will be able to perceive the cultural assumptions and consequences of them. They will be aware of the multiplicity of cognitive approaches to the study of the human mind and their relationship with underlying philosophical and cultural options.

PREREQUISITES

No prior knowledge of philosophy is required. Active participation is essential.

TEACHING METHODS

The course will not consist only of lectures, introducing the main issues of the course and analyzing concepts and problems, but  requires active participation by all students. The participants will be involved in exercises of philosophical analysis and argumentation, in the clarification and discussion of philosophical concepts and concepts in common use.

The slides used during the lectures will be made available on Aulaweb.

Students with disability or other special educational needs are recommended to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and exam methods that, in compliance with the objectives of the course, take into account the individual learning approaches and provide appropriate compensatory tools.

For international students, a a list of text in English could be provided on request. The exam may be taken, in the required forms, in English, Spanish or German.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The philosophy of mind has gained an increasing importance within contemporary philosophy. Some central issues of philosophical thinking in general are approached through an inquiry into the nature of mind, its properties, its limits. The study of mind is conceived, on one hand, as the key to the understanding of human nature in general; on the other hand,  it is strongly conditioned by general assumptions on knowledge, science, the physical world, and so on. Furthermore, a definite conception of human mind constitutes the explicit or implicit presupposition of different approaches to its study, of various “psychological sciences”, such as cognitive sciences, psychoanalysis, psychiatry, cultural psychology, neurosciences.  This course aims to offer some tools that enable a first orientation on contemporary debate on human mind with its deep cultural consequences.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) P. Perconti, Filosofia della mente, il Mulino, Bologna, 2017.

2) D.C. Dennett, La mente e le menti. Verso una comprensione della coscienza, Sansoni, Milano, 1997.

3)  Th. Nagel, Mente e cosmo. Perché la concezione neodarwiniana della natura è quasi certamente falsa, Milano, Cortina, 2015.

4) one of the following books:

- M. Marraffa, A. Paternoster, Sentirsi esistere. Inconscio, coscienza, autocoscienza, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2013.

- G. Edelman, Più grande del cielo. Lo straordinario dono fenomenico della coscienza, Einaudi, Torino, 2004.

- J. Searle, Il mistero della coscienza, Milano, Cortina, 1998.

- A. Zhok, Emergentismo. Le proprietà emergenti della materia e lo spazio ontologico della coscienza nella riflessione contemporanea, Pisa, Edizioni ETS, 2011.

- D. Dennett, Sweet Dreams. Illusioni filosofiche sulla coscienza, Milano, Cortina, 2006.

- M.  Di Francesco, G. Piredda, La mente estesa. Dove finisce la mente e comincia il resto del mondo?, Milano, Mondadori, 2012.

The  program for the exam may be subject to variation. Please see the web page of the course on Aulaweb

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CLAUDIO LA ROCCA (President)

ALESSANDRA MODUGNO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course will take place in the second semester. The lessons will begin in the week starting February 17, 2025.

Class schedule

PHILOSOPHY OF MIND

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be oral and consists of an interview on the scheduled texts.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The aim of the oral exam is to assess 1) the student's ability to orient her/himself in texts; 2) the student’s capacity to identify underlying concepts and argumentative techniques; 3) the student’s capacity to understand and carry out philosophical reasoning and to address philosophical issues. It intends to verify not only knowledge but the acquisition of skills of analysis and discussion of philosophical issues.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

By agreement with the teacher, foreign students will be allowed to read texts in English or in other languages. The exam can be taken in English, Spanish or German.