Unit name | Philosophy of Psychology |
---|---|
Unit code | PHIL30077 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Finn Spicer |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
PHIL20046 Realism and Normativity |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Philosophy |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit focuses on philosophical issues raised on contemporary work in psychology, in particular: Rationality (expected utility theory, experimental decision theory/heuristics and biases, ecological rationality, Machiavellian inteligence); Animal minds; Mindreading and social cognition (theory vs. simulation); Cognitive architecture (modality, levels, isomorphism, classical/connectionist/dynamicist architectures); Mental causation (Davidson vs. Kim, supervenience/emergence, reduction, dualism); Evolutionary psychology, nativism, cultural evolution; Embodiment, embedding, varieties of externalism.
At the end of the unit, students have a clear grasp of the science of psychology and its methodological and epistemological footing; they will be able to deploy findings from psychological studies to shed new light on traditional philosophical debates about the mind and will be able to assess the philosophical implications of the major theories and hypotheses about the structure and nature of the mind offered by experimental psychology. Students should also have the ability to form their own views and provide argumentative justification for their positions.
1 hour lecture and 1 hour seminar per week
3 hour exam