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

Spring 2020 • University of California, Berkeley

Instructor: Jason Winning      Lecture place/time: Barrows 50, Tu Th 3:30–5:00 pm
Email: jason.winning@gmail.com      Office hours place/time: Moses 244, Tu 12–1:00 pm & Th 11:30–12:30 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: Attendance and coming to class on time are mandatory. All students may have up to 3 absences for any reason; after that, there will be no excused absences (therefore, you should only save the 3 excused absences for emergencies). Each unexcused absence (i.e., the 4th, 5th, and so on) will result in the final course grade being reduced by 5 percent. Coming to class after attendance has been taken will be considered an absence. This is due to the workshop nature of the class: much of the learning happens by way of interaction with other students during class. If you feel there is a good chance you will be absent more than 3 times, you are strongly recommended to take the class during a future semester instead. 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. Students who fail to turn in the in-class writing assignment on a given day (if there is one) with their name on it will also be considered absent for that day.

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, Incomplete Schedule (subject to change)

Tues., Jan. 21:   Introduction
Thurs., Jan. 23:Cornman, Lehrer, & Pappas pp. 139–148
 
Tues., Jan. 28:Cornman, Lehrer, & Pappas pp. 149–161
Thurs., Jan. 30:Cornman, Lehrer, & Pappas pp. 163–181
 
Tues., Feb. 4:Smart, “Sensations and Brain Processes”
Thurs., Feb. 6:Fodor, “The Mind-Body Problem”, pp. 114–118
 
Tues., Feb. 11:Fodor, “The Mind-Body Problem”, pp. 118–123
Thurs., Feb. 13:Searle, “Minds, Brains, and Programs”, pp. 417–419
 
Tues., Feb. 18:Draft of Intro due; Searle, “Minds, Brains, and Programs”, pp. 419–424
Thurs., Feb. 20:Dennett, “The Milk of Human Intentionality” commentary on Searle
 
Tues., Feb. 25:Draft of Outline of First Paper due; Dennett cont’d
Thurs., Feb. 27:In-class drafting activity
 
Tues., Mar. 3:Draft of First Paper (at least 4 pages) due; In-class drafting activity
Thurs., Mar. 5:In-class drafting activity
 
Tues., Mar. 10:In-class peer review activity
Thurs., Mar. 12:In-class peer review activity
 
First paper due on Friday, Mar. 20 at 5:00 pm
 
Tues., Mar. 17:Gibbs (2005) Embodiment and Cognitive Science introductory chapter
Thurs., Mar. 19:Clark & Chalmers (1998) “The Extended Mind”
 
Tues., Mar. 31:Dretske (1986) “Minds, Machines, and Meaning”
Thurs., Apr. 2:Vernon (2014) Artificial Cognitive Systems excerpt
 
Tues., Apr. 7:Adams & Garrison (2013) “The Mark of the Cognitive”
 Recommended, NOT required: Elpidorou (2014) and Adams & Garrison reply
Thurs., Apr. 9:Carruthers (2004) “On Being Simple Minded”
 
Tues., Apr. 14:Huebner (2011) “Minimal Minds”
Thurs., Apr. 16:Draft of Intro due; Calvo Garzón (2007) “The Quest for Cognition in Plant Neurobiology”
 Adams (2018) “Cognition Wars”
 
Tues., Apr. 21:Draft of Outline of Second Paper due; Segundo-Ortina & Calvo response to Adams
Thurs., Apr. 23:Draft of Second Paper (at least 2 pages) due; Fulda (2017) “Natural Agency: The Case of Bacterial Cognition”
 
Tues., Apr. 28:In-class drafting activity
Thurs., Apr. 30:Draft of Second Paper (at least 5 pages) due; In-class peer review activity
 
Second paper due on Monday, May 11 at noon (12:00 pm)