Key facts

Type	Online and Distance Learning
Location	Online
Dates	Wed 18 Sep to Fri 29 Nov 2013
Subject area(s)	Philosophy
CATS points	10
Fees	From £220.00
Application status	Applications being accepted
Course code	O13P321PHV
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email onlinecourses@conted.ox.ac.uk.

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Overview

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

Description

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

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 of their own position on the mind-body problem – even if it is one of not having made up their mind!

Programme details

The areas you will cover in this course are:
• An introduction to the course, to philosophy and to the analysis of argument
• Descartes and dualism, the belief that the mind and body are two different substances
• Behaviourism, the desire for the scientific study of mind and the rejection of the methodology of introspection
• Type-Identity theory, - physicalist theory and the 'kneejerk' theory of our time, but is it the right account of the relation between mind and body?
• Functionalism, as more sophisticated type of physicalism, but can it account for the subjective quality of our mental states?
• A Reading week to help you catch up or get ahead
• Another sophisticated type of physicalism that has also been called 'property dualism'
• Eliminativism - an examination of the claim that we cannot solve the mind-body problem because the mind doesn't in fact exist!
• Another attempt to explain why we can't solve the mind-body problem, at least so long as we believe that mental states are causally efficacious
• A summing up of the whole debate, and a chance to think things through for yourself

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.

Course aims

This course aims to introduce students to 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.

Course Objectives
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.

Certification

This course is accredited and you are expected to take the course for credit. To be awarded credit you must complete written contributions satisfactorily. Successful students will receive credit, awarded by the Board of Studies of Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. The award will take the form of 10 units of transferable credit at FHEQ level 4 of the Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS). A transcript detailing the credit will be issued to successful students.

Assessment methods

The course assessment will be a written essay or commentary of approximately 1000 words.

Level and demands

FHEQ level 4, 10 weeks, approx 10 hours per week, therefore a total of about 100 study hours.

Recommended reading

To participate in the course you will need to have regular access to the Internet and you will need to buy the following paperback book:

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

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)

Teaching 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 constructively to criticise the arguments of philosophers
• the ability to explicate their own view on the mind-body problem

Fee options

Programme Fee

Home/EU Fee: £220.00

Non-EU Fee: £295.00

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