Event Timeslots (1)

Wednesday
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
This class is an examination of concepts in contemporary (western) philosophy of mind and in cognitive science. Concepts are generally understood as explanatory posits that are introduced to explain a number of human capacities, such as thinking, reasoning and categorizing. Aside from this general consensus, however, there is little agreement as to what concepts are. We will look at leading theories of concepts and at their problems. Then we will look at recent work on the acquisition of concepts. This is a fairly advanced course in philosophy of mind designed for graduate students but recommended also to advanced undergraduates who are interested in cognitive science. The class does not require prior knowledge of philosophy of mind, but it does require an understanding of what arguments are and of how they should be reconstructed and evaluated. It also requires knowledge of how philosophy papers should be read and written. A prior introductory logic class or a prior writing- intensive philosophy class is strongly recommended.