Topics in Philosophy of Mind: Mental Content

A line drawing of a brain map, commonly used in phrenology.

This course will focus on philosophy of mind with a concentration on mental states and their relationship to propositions. Early attempts at connecting mental functions with specific parts of the brain included phrenological maps such as the one above. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and is in the public domain.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

24.500

As Taught In

Spring 2015

Level

Graduate

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Course Description

Course Features

Educator Features

Course Description

Propositions are everywhere in the philosophy of mind. Believing, hoping, and intending (for example) are said to be "propositional attitudes", mental states that involve relations to propositions. The seminar will examine issues at the heart of the dispute between the proposition-aficionados and their detractors. The course will be divided into five parts, covering: (1) de se thought; (2) propositions; (3) knowing how; (4) perceptual content; (5) the knowledge argument.

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Related Content

Alex Byrne, and Agustín Rayo. 24.500 Topics in Philosophy of Mind: Mental Content. Spring 2015. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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