Assessment

Mid-term essay 40%, final exam 60%

Module Aims

This module offers an in-depth exploration of philosophical perspectives on the nature of the mind, soul, bodies, and people, examining topics such as mental states, mental content, sensation and appearance, perception, thought and language, human rationality, and artificial intelligence, action, intention, and will, personal identity, and self-knowledge. Learners will gain insight into key thinkers including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Turing, Anscombe, and Nagel.

Learning Outcomes

• — LO1 Contextualise theories of mind in the context of the history of philosophy.
• — LO2 Trace a historical trajectory of the development of theories of mind.
• — LO3 Draw together argumentation from diverse philosophers into a synthetic whole.
• — LO4 Read and analyse complex philosophical argumentation.
• — LO5 Express a philosophical position on a major issue in philosophy.
• — LO6 Identify where the problems in understanding the mind-body relationship emerge over the course of the history of philosophy.