Philosophy of Mind



Overview

The philosophy of mind is one of the most exciting areas within philosophy. It concerns questions about the nature of the mind and the relation between our minds and the physical world. This online course provides an introduction to the philosophy of mind by presenting the mind-body problem, one of the most intractable problems in philosophy.

Listen to Marianne Talbot talking about the course:

Students will be guided through their reading of various classical and contemporary works on the mind-body problem and encouraged to think for themselves about the problems addressed. They will engage in various optional activities to stimulate personal reflection and will contribute to group discussions designed to create a supportive online community with the common task of acquiring an understanding.

By the end of the course, students should feel confident in their own position on the mind-body problem – even if it is one of not having made up their mind!

This course has no live sessions. You will study structured materials at your own pace each week with support of a tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.

Programme details

The course is broken down into 10 units over 10 weeks, each requiring approximately 10 hours of study time. The following topics are covered:

1. Introduction

  • The mind-body problem
  • Two types of mental state
  • Rationality and normativity
  • Complications
  • The mental and the physical
  • The philosophical method
  • The principle of charity
  • Evaluating an argument

2. Cartesian dualism

  • Background to Meditation II
  • Descartes’ project
  • Meditation I: three levels of doubt
  • The evil demon
  • Meditation II
  • Background to Meditation VI
  • The real distinction
  • Problems for Cartesian dualism

3. Type-identity theory

  • Before type-identity theory
  • Type-identity theory
  • Counter-intuitions
  • Contingent identities
  • The necessity of identity
  • Epistemology and metaphysics
  • Designation and rigidity
  • Where are we?
  • No choice at all
  • Science and philosophy

4. Functionalism

  • Theoretical states
  • ‘Inner’ states
  • Multiple realisability
  • Non-reductive physicalism
  • Functionalism and intuitions about functional roles
  • Functionalism and qualia
  • Functional roles and attitudes
  • Rational holism
  • Functionalism and intuitions

5. Anomalous monism

  • Background to AM
  • Dissolving the inconsistency
  • Anomalous monism
  • AM and the mind-body problem
  • The causal exclusion argument
  • Causation vs. causal explanation
  • Reason explanation
  • Causal exclusion re-visited

6. Reading week

  • Taking stock

7. Eliminativism

  • Theoretical states and ontology
  • An inductive argument
  • Replacing reason explanations
  • Eliminativism and determinism
  • The state of play

8. Epiphenomenalism

  • Interactionism
  • The contents of consciousness
  • Ephiphenomenalism and qualia
  • The attitudes
  • Counter-intuitions
  • Libet’s results

9. Externalism

  • Twin Earth
  • A look into the past
  • Narrow psychology
  • Putnam’s answers
  • The upshot of Putnam’s answers
  • Externalism
  • Descartes again
  • The priority of interpretation
  • Undermining Descartes
  • Externalism and interactionism
  • A problem for externalism

10. Making up your mind

  • Twin Earth
  • A look into the past
  • Narrow psychology
  • Putnam’s answers
  • The upshot of Putnam’s answers
  • Externalism
  • Descartes again
  • The priority of interpretation
  • Undermining Descartes
  • Externalism and interactionism
  • A problem for externalism
  • Concluding points

We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral and very rewarding part of the course and the online learning experience.

Textbooks

To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet. The course is based on:

Chalmers, David J., (Editor), Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings (OUP, New York, 2002) ISBN 019514581X

and readings from the core text will be provided.

Please ensure that you can access copies of any required textbooks before enrolling on a course. While cancellations are uncommon, courses may not run if enrolment is too low. The Department accepts no responsibility for books purchased in anticipation of a course running.

Digital Certification

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online courses are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £430.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Amna Whiston

Dr Amna Whiston is a philosopher whose work brings together moral philosophy, the philosophy of mind, and an engagement with the history of ideas from Plato and Aristotle to Kant and Marx. She approaches philosophy with an empirical and interdisciplinary sensibility, attentive to how abstract concepts illuminate lived experience.

Alongside publishing and presenting her work in the UK and internationally, she teaches philosophy for Oxford University’s Department of Lifelong Learning and supervises students on Cambridge’s Advanced Diploma and PgCert programmes in philosophy. Her current research focuses on the normativity of emotions.

Course aims

This course aims to introduce students to the philosophy of mind and, in particular, to the problem of the relation between the mind and the body, by:

  • Guiding them through a number of classical and contemporary readings.
  • Helping them to think for themselves about these important but difficult issues.


This course will:

  • Introduce students to philosophical thinking.
  • Guide students’ reading through a number of classical and contemporary papers.
  • Help participants understand the mind-body problem.
  • Familiarise students with the key arguments for and against the main positions in the debate about the mind-body problem.
  • Enable students to think for themselves about the issues involved in the mind-body problem.

Teaching methods

  • Guided reading of texts.
  • Group discussions of particular issues.
  • Questions to be answered in personal folders.
  • Debating from positions given rather than from personal belief (to hone skills of debate).

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students will have gained the following skills:

  • The ability to think philosophically.
  • The ability to describe the main arguments for and against the main positions in the mind-body debate.
  • The ability to constructively criticise the arguments of philosophers.
  • The ability to explicate their own view on the mind-body problem.

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first 500-word assignment is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome, but preparing for it and the feedback you are given will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

Level and demands

This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.

IT requirements

This course is delivered online; to participate, you must be familiar with using a computer for purposes such as sending email and searching the Internet. You will also need regular access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support