2020-2021 / PHIL0214-2

Philosophy of mind

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

 Master in philosophy (120 ECTS)5 crédits 

Lecturer

Arnaud Dewalque

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course (30h Th) aims at critically discussing one classical book of philosophy of mind, broadly construed. In 2020-21, set book is Franz Brentano's Psychology from an empirical standpoint. Without belonging properly speaking to the tradition of analytic philosophy of mind, this book opened up important research perspectives on the study of mind and mental phenomena. Emphasis will be put on the reconstruction, reception, and critical discussion of Brentano's main claims and arguments.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

By the end of the course, students are supposed to understand the main issues at stake in the book under discussion.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Bachelor in Philosophy.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Each class will be based upon the reading of one chapter of the set book (see schedule) and will be structured as follows:

  • Contextualization from contemporary texts
  • Reconstruction of the author's claims and arguments in the chapter
  • Critical discussion
Support: a handout (in English) will be made available for each class.
Active participation is expected. It includes:
  • Participation during the sessions
  • Reading the relevant chapter(s) for every session
  • Posting entries in the e-Campus Forum (see below)
  • Handing in your work on time

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Organisational adjustments related to the current health context

Online classes: to access the virtual classroom (collaborate), please go to eCampus => course => classe virtuelle => salle de classe.
Assessment criteria: unchanged (forum/class participation + final paper OR oral exam to be held online).

Recommended or required readings

Set book (required for the classes):

  • Franz Brentano, Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint. Engl. trans. by A. C. Rancurello et al. London: Routledge. 1973. 2nd ed. 1995 (original German edition: Psychologie vom empirischen Standpunkte, Leipzig, Duncker & Humblot, 1874; 1911; rééditions : Hamburg, Meiner, 1924 ; Sämtliche veröffentlichte Schriften, Bd. 1, Frankfurt, Ontos Verlag, 2008).

Assessment methods and criteria

Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.

Any session :

- In-person

oral exam

- Remote

oral exam AND written work

- If evaluation in "hybrid"

preferred remote


Additional information:

I. Attendance
Attendance is mandatory. Please note that you can only miss two sessions. If you should miss a third session, a medical certificate will be needed. Should you miss a fourth session your term paper will not be considered and you will not pass the course.
II. Grade will be calculated on the basis of:


  • Active participation during the sessions (10%)
  • Active participation in the e-Campus Forum (30%)
  • Final assessment: Term paper OR oral exam (60 %)
III. Entries in the e-Campus Forum:
Students will be asked to participate weekly in the e-Campus Forums, by posting an entry and responding to at least one of your fellow students. These entries are responses to the reading assigned for that week.


  • Entries must be uploaded Mondays before every session, 23:59 at the latest.
  • Your entries should consist in a question/objection about a specific text passage of the reading assigned for that week.
  • Your responses to your fellow students should always respond specifically to the question asked or the objection raised by suggesting varying interpretations/giving concrete counter-arguments.
  • The best questions/objections will be discussed in class.
IV. Final Assessment
For the final assessment, participants are asked to choose one of the two following assessment modalities: writing a term paper OR passing an oral exam.
- Oral exam will consist in answering three questions on the views presented in the set book. Students will typically be asked to (i) explain the content of one chapter of the book (drawn by lot) and (ii) explain two concepts or two claims by the author.
Assessment criteria are:


  • the relevance of the answers
  • their completeness
  • their formal quality (clarity, structure, mastering of technical terms)
- 'Personal paper' means a short piece of work based on your own readings/thoughts and addressing one issue which should be clearly identified at the outset. IMPORTANT: A mere summary of a chapter of the course (or of an article you have read) does not count as a personal paper. The choice of topic is up to you. 
Assessment criteria will be




  • the relevance of the question at issue
  • the formal quality of the written text, including its clarity
  • the inner articulation and consistency of the ideas
A few formalia:


  • Length: 10-12 pages/3000 words.
  • Please respect the academic standards in terms of style and layout (Times New Roman 12pt, paragraphs with alinea, text justified, Line and Paragraph Spacing: 1.5)
  • Deadline: see the schedule of the exam session.
  • Please send your paper as PDF to a.dewalque(at)uliege.be
  • IMPORTANT: For every 24 hours of delay you will lose two marks on your paper. Examples: Original grade (11) handed in 1 day late: Final grade (9); original grade (18) handed in 2 days late: Final grade (14)

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

See schedule.

Contacts

Prof. Arnaud Dewalque Dpt of Philosophy 7, Place du 20-août, Building A1/2nd floor B-4000 Liège Phone 0032 (4) 366 55 93

Items online

Syllabus_French version
Syllabus_French version

Syllabus_English version
Syllabus_English version