Philosophy of mind

Duration

30h Th

Number of credits

Lecturer

Anna Giustina

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

Our conscious mind features a variety of mental phenomena: perceptions, bodily sensations, algedonic sensations (pain and pleasure), thoughts, desires, memories, imagination, emotions, moods... Each kind of mental phenomenon has a different function in our cognitive architecture; and each is associated with a certain phenomenology: each comes with a specific subjective feeling and contributes to sprinkle our inner conscious life with a panoply of experiential qualities. In this course, we will focus on three of these phenomena: perception, emotion, and mood. Perception is our primary connection with the world, its main function being providing us with information about our surroundings. Emotions are a central (sometimes destabilizing) element of our inner life. They play a crucial role in motivating our actions, affect our interaction with our environment and with other people, and may reveal to us what we care about and what we do not-our values. Moods pervasively color our stream of consciousness and shape the way we experience and think about the world, and how we live through our lives. We are going to investigate these three kinds of mental phenomena, their structure and phenomenology, by considering and evaluating different philosophical theories about them.

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

At the end of the course, you will (i) have acquired an understanding of the most important philosophical issues about conscious mental phenomena, especially perception, emotion, and moods; (ii) have strengthened your ability to analyze a philosophical text, critically evaluate a philosophical argument, develop your own philosophical ideas, and actively engage in philosophical discussion; (iii) appreciate the value of the philosophical debate around conscious mental phenomena; (iv) have developed a deeper appreciation of the place and importance of perception, emotion, and mood in human life.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Bachelor in Philosophy.
Understanding of written English is required.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Each class will be based upon the required reading for the session (see schedule) and will be structured as follows:

• Contextualization in the philosophical debate
• Reconstruction of the author's claims and arguments in the chapter
• Critical discussion.

• Participation during the sessions
• Doing the required reading for every session
• Handing in your work on time

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

Recommended or required readings

Required:
Bordini, Davide. 2017. "Not in the Mood for Intentionalism." Midwest Studies In Philosophy 41 (1): 60-81.
James, William. 1884. "What Is an Emotion?" Mind 9: 188-205.
Logue, Heather. 2012. "Why Naive Realism?" Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 112: 211-37.
Mendelovici, Angela. 2013. "Intentionalism About Moods." Thought: A Journal of Philosophy 2 (1): 126-36.
Montague, Michelle. 2009. "The Logic, Intentionality, and Phenomenology of Emotion." Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 145 (2): 171-92.
Pautz, Adam. 2017. "Experiences Are Representations: An Empirical Argument." In Current Controversies in the Philosophy of Perception, edited by Bence Nanay, 23-42. New York; London: Routledge.
 
Recommended:
Deonna, Julien, and Fabrice Teroni. 2020. "Emotional Experience: Affective Consciousness and Its Role in Emotion Theory." In The Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Consciousness, edited by Uriah Kriegel, 102-23. New York: Oxford University Press.
Fish, William. 2010. Philosophy of Perception: A Contemporary Introduction. New York: Routledge.
Kriegel, Uriah. 2019. "The Intentional Structure of Moods." Philosophers' Imprint 19: 1-19.

Assessment methods and criteria

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam

Written work / report

Continuous assessment


Additional information:

• Five reading responses of half a page/one page (20% of the final grade).
• A 1500/2000-word essay to be submitted before December 14th (30% of the final grade);
• A 2000/3000-word essay to be submitted before January 29th (50% of the final grade);
• Participation in class will be tie-breaker.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

See schedule.

Contacts

Anna Giustina Dpt of Philosophy 7, Place du 20-août, Building A1/2nd floor B-4000 Liège email: anna.giustina@outlook.com

Items online