Theory of Knowledge
PHIL320-010
Epistemology
derives from the Greek episteme ("knowledge") and logos ("account or
reason"). The study of epistemology is the attempt to give an account
of the source and nature of knowledge.
Knowledge is
a highly prized commodity. Secret agents kill to get it. Scientists
spend billions of dollars trying to find it. If you knew the winning
numbers in the next Powerball lottery, you would become rich by
purchasing a ticket with those very numbers.
We would
like to know many things that we do not know. Is there life on other
planets? Will computers someday actually be able to think? There are
also many things that we do know. We know enough physics, engineering,
and computer science to send people to the moon and return them safely
to Earth. Pick up any encyclopedia and you will have a partial list of
what we now know. What you will not find is an answer to the question
"What is it for a person to know something?" This question does not
only ask things such as whether Tom knows Joe is drug-free. It asks
what is required for such knowledge. For example, how accurate must a
drug test be to be able to give knowledge? To ask such a question is to
turn the pursuit of knowledge upon itself. What is it for someone to
know something?
This course will attempt to answer
the above question. We will read attempted answers. We will also
consider objections to those attempted answers. Students will develop
the critical reasoning skills of appraising arguments. They will learn
to evaluate theories of knowledge. Some theories are better than
others, and students learn ways of telling which theories are better
and why.
The course will involve reading of original
philosophical texts. It will involve critical appraisal of arguments.
Students will write a series of papers evaluating theories of
knowledge. There will also be some short quizzes on reading and lecture
material. There will also be a final exam. The class will be in a
lecture and discussion format. Discussion will be encouraged and will
play a large part in the course.
Philosophy of Mind
PHIL330-010 / 080, CGSC330-010 / 080
(080 honors sections require permission of honors program)
What is the mind? What is the relation of the mind to the body? How
does the mind work? For example, how do thoughts come to be about the
world around us? How do your thoughts come to be about or mean the
University of Delaware? And how do thoughts cause behavior? You
enrolled at the University of Delaware because you wanted to come here.
How do wants (desires) cause things in virtue of their contents or
meanings? We are quite familiar with the fact that our thoughts do
control our behavior. And our thoughts certainly seem to do this
because of what they mean or are about. How does this all work?
Philosophers, linguists, psychologists, computer scientists, and
neuroscientists, among others, have asked these sorts of questions. We
will surely attempt to answer questions about the nature of the mind
and how it acquires its contents (or meanings). We begin with a
historical survey of approaches to the mind. We will then look at
current debates about the nature of the mind. Along the way we will
consider related issues of whether nonhuman animals can think and
whether a machine (computer) could be made that can think, among other
issues. We will consider various theories about how the mind represents
the world and current debates about the best way to model the workings
of the mind. The course will not presuppose familiarity with the
literature on these topics, but will be self-contained--the first part
of the course will build a background for the remainder of the course.
The format for the course will be lecture and discussion. Students will
be active participants in daily discussion of materials. Grades will be
determined on the basis of a combination of quizzes, papers and
participation.
CGSC 410/610 Embodied Cognition
This is an undergraduate-graduate co-listed course on
embodied cognition. Embodied cognition
is the theory that the nature of the body of an organism influences the nature
of its cognitive operations in a non-contingent way. A non-embodied view has it that the senses
feed information into the cognitive system and once concepts and goals or
formed the motor system does the mind’s bidding. Cognition typically was thought to take place
after information was delivered to the senses and prior to the motor system’s
doing the mind’s bidding. On the
embodied view, cognition takes place completely across the sensori-motor
divide. This course investigates the
theoretical and empirical support for the claim that cognition is embodied in
an essential way. The readings for this
course are interdisciplinary, covering perspectives from most of the areas of
cognitive science.
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