Minds and Machines

24.09 spring 06 (HASS-D CI)

texts | assigments, papers, exam | web resources | schedule (plus problem set answers, quiz, final exam questions) | slides (MIT only)

INSTRUCTOR: Alex Byrne; 32-D929; office hours by appointment; 8-6106; abyrne@mit.edu.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS: Lauren Ashwell, lashwell@mit.edu; Leah Henderson, lhenders@mit.edu; Heather Logue, logue@mit.edu.

WRITING TUTOR: Chris Robichaud, cjrobi@mit.edu.

TIMES AND PLACES: Lectures MW 11-12, 32-124; recitations F11-12, 56-162, 56-180, 56-169. Attendance at lectures and recitations is essential: much material not in the readings will be presented there.

SUBJECT MATTER: This course is an introduction to many of the central issues in a branch of philosophy called philosophy of mind. Some of the questions we will discuss include the following. Can computers think? Is the mind an immaterial thing? Or is the mind the brain? Or does the mind stand to the brain as a computer program stands to the hardware? How can creatures like ourselves think thoughts that are "about" things? (For example, we can all think that Aristotle is a philosopher, and in that sense think "about" Aristotle, but what is the explanation of this quite remarkable ability?) Can I know whether your experiences and my experiences when we look at raspberries, fire trucks and stop lights are the same? Can consciousness be given a scientific explanation?

PREREQUISITES: None. Be prepared, though, to absorb a lot of unfamiliar technical vocabulary in a short space of time.

TEXTS: You need to buy two books (available at the COOP, and also on reserve in Hayden Library)

David Chalmers, ed., Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings.

John R. Searle, Mind: A Brief Introduction.

In addition to these books, some readings will be available on the web.

READING ASSIGNMENTS: There is a reading assignment for each class meeting, typically a paper or two from from the Chalmers collection, and a selection from Searle's book. Searle's book is relatively easy going, but the readings in the Chalmers collection are often very difficult: expect to read everything at least two or three times. They require close study, and you should not postpone them. If you have trouble understanding what an author says, or any other question concerning the course, please do not hesitate to ask.

PAPERS: Two five page papers, the first of which will be initially submitted in draft, and then rewritten to respond to comments. Late papers will be penalized. In accordance with HASS-D regulations, this course requires at least 20 pages of writing (typed, double-spaced); the extra 10 pages are made up by the ten almost-weekly short writing assignments (see below).

SHORT WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: There will be an almost-weekly one page writing assignment (typed, double-spaced), handed out in Friday recitation, and due in the following recitation. Late assignments will be penalized. There will be ten of these essay-type assignments, each graded with comments on style and substance.

PROBLEM SETS: There will be a weekly problem set, handed out in Friday recitation, and due in the following recitation. Late problem sets will be penalized. The questions on the weekly problem sets will be multiple choice. In addition to the problem sets, there will be occasional pop-quizzes in recitations: these will count towards the class participation portion of your grade.

CI CRITERIA: In addition to the revision and resubmission of one writing assignment, HASS CI subjects should offer students substantial opportunity for oral expression, through presentations, student-led discussion, or class participation. In order to guarantee sufficient attention to student writing and substantial opportunity for oral expression, the maximum number of students per recitation section in a HASS CI subject is 18. The oral expression component of this class will be met by requiring students to present an analysis of a passage of text in recitation; details will be supplied by your teaching assistant.

FINAL EXAM: In accordance with HASS-D regulations, you will be required to take a 3-hour final exam on material covered throughout the term. The final exam will be at least 2/3 essay format, and essay questions will be distributed in the final lecture of the term. The exam will be closed-notes and closed-books. (There is no midterm exam.) The time and date will be set by the Schedules Office Final Examination Schedule. Be sure to check this schedule early and notify the Schedules Office of any conflicts. (NB: Students will be required to take the exam at the scheduled time unless permission has been granted by the Schedules Office to take the exam at an alternate time. Permission to take the exam early will not be given to students who simply want to leave town early for the holidays, even if this is your only exam. Do not book flights home before you know the exam schedule.) In addition to taking the final exam, you must complete all the problem sets and the two papers to pass the course.

PLAGIARISM AND COLLABORATION: You are encouraged to discuss the papers, short writing assignments and problem sets (and, of course, also the reading assignments) with each other. Collaboration on the problem sets is fine, but must be explicitly stated on your answers. You should not use quotations or quotations masquerading as proper paraphrases: a statement of the ideas of one of the authors you've read must be couched in your own words. Plagiarism will result in a grade of F. (See the section on Academic Misconduct and Dishonesty from MIT's Policies and Procedures.) Do not use any footnotes. There will be no prizes for writing in anything other than plain English.

GRADING: 20%: recitation. Your recitation grade will be based on attendance in both recitation and class, text analysis presentation, contributions to discussion, and pop-quizzes. 25%: two 5 page papers. 20%: ten short writing assignments. 15%: problem sets. 20%: final exam. See MIT's explanation of letter grades.

CLASS AND RECITATION PARTICIPATION: This is encouraged (and counts towards 20% of your final grade). Talking about philosophy is one of the best ways of doing it. It is much better to say something you later realize is mistaken or confused than never to say it at all.

GETTING HELP: The instructor and teaching assistants are here to help you. Feel free to email us with any questions about the material or the problem sets, or come and visit us (making an appointment first via email is probably best). An exceptional epistolean has been assigned as the writing tutor, and you should take advantage of this valuable resource.

WEB RESOURCES: On writing, see Jim Pryor's Guidelines on writing a philosophy paper, and Strunk's Elements of Style. A useful glossary is Jim Pryor's Philosophical Terms and Methods. David Chalmers' Web resources relating to consciousness, and such is well worth browsing, as is his website. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) is excellent, albeit incomplete. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (REP) has many helpful articles, some of which will be supplied as optional reading. See the MIT philosophy page for colloquia dates, other philosophy subject information, etc.

SCHEDULE (provisional -- subject to change)

Unless otherwise indicated, all readings are from the Chalmers collection; readings from Searle's book are referred to by chapter and/or number; optional readings and useful links will be added as the term progresses.

Week 1: 2/6 W (NB: no recitation on Friday)
Introduction and warmup: Searle against AI. Searle, Can Computers Think?; Block, The Mind as the Software of the Brain, section 4.

Useful links: Turing, Computing machinery and intelligence; The Alan Turing home page; The Turing test page; talk to ELIZA; MIT's Cog; MIT's cognitive machines group; new yorker article on Turing

Week 2: 2/13 MWF
Searle, contd. Searle, Minds, Brains, and Programs. Dualism. Descartes, Meditations II, VI; Passions of the Soul.