Phil R1B: Reading and Comprehension Through Philosophy. Topic: Mind and Cognition

Fall 2019 • University of California, Berkeley

Instructor: Jason Winning      Lecture place/time: Dwinelle 262, Tu Th 8–9:30 am
Email: jason.winning@gmail.com      Office hours place/time: Moses 244, MWF 2–3:00 pm
Discussion sections: (There are none.)

Course Description

The goal of this course is to teach students how to read and understand complex philosophical texts, how to articulate that understanding in writing, and how to analyze and critically assess philosophical arguments. Students will be expected to devote significant time and effort to writing. The topic we will focus on will be mind and cognition. This course satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

Required Texts

There are no required books for this course. All readings will be made available electronically on bCourses.

Course Mechanics

Lectures and Discussion: I lecture with slides. The slides will be used to focus discussion and organize complex material; they are not a substitute for the readings. Students are expected to take careful notes and will be held responsible for the material discussed in class not found on the slides or in the readings.

Reading Assignments: Students are required to read each selection prior to class. You should take notes while reading, keeping track of questions or issues that arise. You should bring both the reading and the notes/questions to class.

Outlines of Readings: On days when a writing assignment is not stated in the schedule (the orange writing below), an outline of the reading assignment for that day will be due. For the reading assigned for that day, write an outline that is at least 3 levels deep. Each item in the outline should be a complete sentence, and should be no longer than 1 medium-length sentence. The outline should be at least 200 words. Bring a print-out of the outline to class. You may not copy sentences or phrases (5 or more words, not counting ‘the’, ‘a’, etc.) verbatim from the reading; the outline must be written in your own words.

Grading

All draft and paper assignments (but neither outlines of readings nor in-class assignments) must be turned in electronically to bCourses.

Course Policies

Attendance: There is no formal requirement for you to attend class. However, outlines of readings must be turned in at the beginning of class, and in-class writing assignments must be completed during class. These cannot be turned in late under any circumstances.

Lateness: Draft assignments and the two papers will be considered late if they are turned in after they are due. Draft assignments are due at the start of class. A late draft or paper assignment will immediately result in a reduction of 1 full letter grade. For each additional 24 hours it is late, the grade will be reduced by 1/3 of a letter grade (B reduced to B-, C+ reduced to C, etc.). In fairness to students who make sacrifices to ensure that their work is turned in on time, no exceptions can be made to this policy unless you discuss it with me well in advance of the due date.

Academic Integrity: All suspicions of academic misconduct will be reported to the Center for Student Conduct according to university policy. Academic misconduct is not just blatant cheating (e.g., copying off another student during an exam), but includes copying other students’ essays; copying or using old essays; forgetting to cite material you took from an outside resource; turning in work completed in total or in part by another. This is an incomplete list; if you have questions concerning academic misconduct it is your responsibility to ask me for advice.

Tentative Schedule (subject to change)

Thurs., Aug. 29:   Introduction
 
Tues., Sept. 3:Cornman, Lehrer, & Pappas pp. 139–148
Thurs., Sept. 5:Cornman, Lehrer, & Pappas pp. 149–163
 
Tues., Sept. 10:Cornman, Lehrer, & Pappas pp. 163–181
Thurs., Sept. 12:Smart, “Sensations and Brain Processes”
 
Tues., Sept. 17:Fodor, “The Mind-Body Problem”, pp. 114–118
Thurs., Sept. 19:Fodor, “The Mind-Body Problem”, pp. 118–123
 
Tues., Sept. 24:Searle, “Minds, Brains, and Programs”, pp. 417–419
Thurs., Sept. 26:Draft of Intro due; Searle, “Minds, Brains, and Programs”, pp. 419–424
 
Tues., Oct. 1:Dennett, “The Milk of Human Intentionality” commentary on Searle
Thurs., Oct. 3:Draft of Outline due; Dennett cont’d
 
Tues., Oct. 8:In-class drafting activity
Thurs., Oct. 10:Draft of First Paper (at least 4 pages) due; In-class drafting activity
 
Tues., Oct. 15:In-class peer review activity
Thurs., Oct. 17:In-class peer review activity
 
First paper due on Friday, Oct. 11 at 5:00 pm
 
Tues., Oct. 22:Gibbs (2005) Embodiment and Cognitive Science introductory chapter
Thurs., Oct. 24:Clark & Chalmers (1998) “The Extended Mind”
 
Tues., Oct. 29:Dretske (1986) “Minds, Machines, and Meaning”
Thurs., Oct. 31:Vernon (2014) Artificial Cognitive Systems excerpt
 
Tues., Nov. 5:Adams & Garrison (2013) “The Mark of the Cognitive”
 Recommended, NOT required: Elpidorou (2014) and Adams & Garrison reply
Thurs., Nov. 7:Carruthers (2004) “On Being Simple Minded”
 
Tues., Nov. 12:Calvo Garzón (2007) “The Quest for Cognition in Plant Neurobiology”
 Adams (2018) “Cognition Wars”
Thurs., Nov. 14:Draft of Intro due; Segundo-Ortina & Calvo response to Adams
 
Tues., Nov. 19:Fulda (2017) “Natural Agency: The Case of Bacterial Cognition”
Thurs., Nov. 21:Draft of Outline due; Bayne et al. (2019) “What is Cognition?”
 
Tues., Nov. 26:Draft of Second Paper (at least 3 pages) due; In-class drafting activity
Thurs., Nov. 28:No class
 
Tues., Dec. 3:Draft of Second Paper (at least 5 pages) due; In-class peer review activity
Thurs., Dec. 5:In-class peer review activity
 
Second paper due on Monday, Dec. 16 at noon (12:00 pm)