This course is about issues at the intersection of Philosophy of Mind, Cognitive Science, Artificial Intelligence, and Epistemology.

Philosophy of Representation
What is the nature of mental states?  Should thinking be thought of as largely linguistic?  How else might we think of mental states?  Do we need representations at all?  How do developments in cognitive science and AI affect how we approach the preceding questions?

To what extent, if any, should the linguistic  turn in philosophy be rethought?

Cognitive and Computational Epistemology
What (if any) are the implications of descriptive  inquiry for normative questions?
What (if any) are the implications of normative inquiry for descriptive questions? 

Mindreading
This year, we  also will study issues in mental state ascription (a.k.a. "mindreading", mentalizing, or theory of mind).  Mindreading, in this non-psychic sense, has to do with our everyday ability to attribute mental states (beliefs, desires, hopes, fears,...) to others and to ourselves.  All the preceding and other questions will be brought to bear on the issue of mental state ascription.

Prerequisite: at least one 200-level Philosophy course, or consent of the instructor.

Students who cannot attend class regularly are strongly advised to reconsider taking this course.