Topics in the Philosophy of Neuroscience

Symbolic Systems 206 Philosophy 206S Professor: Paul Skokowski Stanford University Autumn, 2002 Texts:

Tye, Ten Problems of Consciousness Dretske, Naturalizing the Mind Hardin, Color for Philosophers LeDoux, Synaptic Self

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Further Readings on Reserve:

Palmer, Vision Science, MIT (1999). (Falconer) Zeki, A Vision of the Brain, Blackwell (1993). (Falconer)

Topic 1: Neural Reductionism Week 1, Sept. 30th:

Patricia Churchland, Can Neurobiology Teach us Anything about Consciousness? Paul and Patricia Churchland, Intertheoretic Reduction: A Neuroscientist's Field Guide - Copies on Reserve at Tanner Philosophy Library. LeDoux, Ch. 1.

Week 2, Oct. 7th:

Gold and Stoljar, A neuron doctrine in the philosophy of neuroscience. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22(5), (1999). LeDoux, Ch. 2. Further recommended readings: Jerry Fodor, Special Sciences, in Ned Block (ed.), Readings in the Philosophy of Psychology, Vol. 1.

Topic 2: Neural Correlates of Consciousness

Week 3, Oct 14th:

Searle, J. Consciousness. Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 23:557-78, (2000). (Choose Annual Reviews, Neuroscience, to download). Crick and Koch, Consciousness and Neuroscience, Cerebral Cortex, 8:97-107, 1998. LeDoux, Ch. 3. Further recommended readings: Koch and Crick, On the zombie within, Nature, Vol. 411, 21 June 2001.

Week 4, Oct. 21st:

David Chalmers, What is a Neural Correlate of Consciousness? in Metzinger (ed.), The Neuronal Correlates of Consciousness, MIT (2000) Noë and Thompson, Are There Neural Correlates of Consciousness? Journal of Consciousness Studies (forthcoming). LeDoux, Ch. 4. Further recommended readings: Crick and Koch, The Unconscious Homunculus, in Metzinger (ed.), The Neuronal Correlates of Consciousness, MIT (2000) Zeki, Localization and Globalization in Conscious Vision. Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 24:57-86, (2001). (Choose Annual Reviews, Neuroscience, to download)

Topic 3: Externalism

Week 5, Oct 28th:

Tye, Ch. 2, Sec 4.0 - 4.5, Sec 5.0 - 5.3. LeDoux, Ch. 5. Further recommended readings: Tye, Ch. 1. Moore, G.E., The Refutation of Idealism, Mind, 12, (1903).

Week 6, Nov 4th:

Dretske, Prologue, Ch. 1, Ch.3. LeDoux, Ch. 6. Further recommended readings: Dretske, Ch. 2, Ch. 4. Skokowski, Review of 'Naturalizing the Mind', Mind and Language, 11(4), (1996). * * * MID-TERM PAPERS DUE * * *

Topic 4: The Problem of Color

Week 7, Nov 11th:

Hardin, Intro, Ch. 1. LeDoux, Ch. 7. Further recommended readings: Palmer, Vision Science, MIT (1999). Ch.3. Hurvich, Color Vision, Sinauer Associates (1981). Ch.5. - Copies at Tanner Library.

Week 8, Nov 18th:

Hardin, Ch. 2. Further recommended readings: Zeki, A Vision of the Brain, Blackwell (1993). Ch. 23. Palmer, Vision Science, MIT (1999). Ch. 3.

Week 9, Nov 25th:

Hardin, Ch. 3. Hilbert, What is Color Vision? Philosophical Studies 68, 351-70, (1992). Further recommended readings: Locke, Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Bk II, Ch. viii,

Week 10, Dec 2nd:

Byrne and Hilbert, Color Realism and Color Science. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 25(6), (2002) Further recommended readings: Tye, Consciousness, Color, and Content, MIT (2000). Ch. 7.

Week 11, Dec 9TH:

* * * FINAL PAPERS DUE * * *

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