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Mind or Knowledge This course is called “Mind or Knowledge” so that the instructor may choose to focus on contemporary issues in the nature of mind, or of knowledge, or both (i.e. the “or” is inclusive). During the Winter 2009 offering, the the two main texts for the course are A Virtue Epistemology (Ernest Sosa) and Recreative Minds (Gregory Currie and Ian Ravenscroft), though other readings will be placed on reserve. The first part of the course will focus on Sosa's book; the second part will focus on the work of Currie and Ravenscroft. Sosa's book lays out and refines his views on virtue epistemology. He engages different forms of scepticism, examines the nature of epistemic normativity, and defends his use of the distinction between reflective and non-reflective forms of knowledge. Sosa can be located in tradition of analytic epistemology. Currie and Ravenscroft put forward a theory of imagination, and they work it up in a way that has implications for the ongoing interdisciplinary debate in "mind reading" (or mental state ascription). In the process, they draw on developments in cognitive science and psychology. Mind reading (so called) is about how we (appropriately) attribute mental states to others and to ourselves. It is central to human social interaction. As well as studying these works individually (and some related papers by other authors), we will examine some of places where epistemology and philosophy of mind make contact. There is an epistemic dimension to the appropriate attribution of mental states. In what sense or senses is the attribution of one or more mental states epistemically appropriate? Can changing how we understand a faculty of the mind (like imagination) lead to changes in what we consider epistemically virtuous or otherwise appropriate? These are among the questions we will explore in this course. Students will be expected to do (a) one seminar presentation and (b) about 30 pages of writing in this course. Details on (a) the length of the presentation and possible topics and (b) the breakdown of the writing assignments will be available from the instructor when the course begins. While this course is open to students who are not graduate students in philosophy, it will be pursued philosophically. While psychology and cognitive science will be discussed, detailed background in these fields will not be assumed.
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