Philosophy of Mind

Fall 2025

Analia Saban, Perceptron, 2024

Analia Saban, Perceptron, 2024.

Details

Course CodeLocation Times
PHIL-SHU 80567 West Yangsi Road, Room EB111Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Instructor

NameEmailOfficeConsultation Times
Brad Weslakebrad.weslake@nyu.edu567 West Yangsi Road, Room W826By appointment

Overview

This class is an introduction to philosophy of mind. No prior philosophy, psychology or neuroscience will be assumed.

Assessment

The final grade will be determined approximately as follows:

Attendance and participation: 10%
First Oral Exam: 10%
Second Oral Exam: 15%
Paper (Outline): 10%
Paper (Draft): 15%
Paper (Final): 20%
Third Oral Exam: 20%

Assessment dates:

First Oral Exam: 22-26 September
Second Oral Exam: 20-24 October
Paper (Outline): Friday 7 November
Paper (Draft): Friday 21 November
Paper (Final): Friday 5 December
Third Oral Exam: 8-12 December

Policies

Lateness and Attendance

Students are required to attend all classes on time. Lateness will count against your attendance and participation grade. Students missing 4 classes will receive an attendance and participation grade of F. Students missing 6 classes will receive a final grade of F.

Integrity

It is a condition on passing this course that students read and adhere to the NYU Shanghai policy on academic integrity as described in the current NYU Shanghai Academic Bulletin.

Course Materials

All notes, readings and assignments can be found here.

The following books have been placed on reserve in the library:

Schedule

Meeting 1: Introductory Discussion (Tuesday 2 September)

Meeting 2: The Mark of the Mental (Thursday 4 September)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 3: Dualism: Epistemological Arguments (Tuesday 9 September)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 4: Dualism: The Problem of Interaction (Thursday 11 September)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 5: Dualism: The Pairing Problem (Tuesday 16 September)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 6: Review (Thursday 18 September)

Meeting 7: Behaviour and Knowledge of Minds (Tuesday 23 September)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 8: Behaviourism (Thursday 25 September)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

National Day Holiday/Mid-Autumn Festival

Meeting 9: The Identity Theory I (Tuesday 7 October)

Primary Reading

Meeting 10: The Identity Theory II (Thursday 9 October)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 11: The Identity Theory III (Tuesday 14 October)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 12: Review (Thursday 16 October)

Meeting 13: Functionalism I (Tuesday 21 October)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 14: Functionalism II (Thursday 23 October)

Primary Reading

Meeting 15: Functionalism and Consciousness I (Tuesday 28 October)

Primary Reading

Meeting 16: Writing a Philosophy Paper (Thursday 30 October)

Primary Reading

Meeting 17: Functionalism and Consciousness II (Tuesday 4 November)

Primary Reading

Meeting 18: Propositional Attitudes: Eliminativism (Thursday 6 November)

Primary Reading

Meeting 19: Propositional Attitudes: Representationalism I (Sunday 9 November)

Primary Reading

Meeting 20: Propositional Attitudes: Dispositionalism (Tuesday 11 November)

Primary Reading

Meeting 21: Propositional Attitudes: Representationalism II (Thursday 13 November)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 22: Animal Thought I (Tuesday 18 November)

Primary Reading

Meeting 23: Animal Thought II (Thursday 20 November)

Primary Reading

Meeting 24: Animal Thought III (Tuesday 25 November)

Primary Reading

Thanksgiving

Meeting 25: Bias and Belief I (Tuesday 2 December)

Primary Reading
Secondary Reading

Meeting 26: Review (Thursday 4 December)

Meeting 27: Bias and Belief II (Tuesday 9 December)

Primary Reading

Meeting 28: Final Discussion (Thursday 11 December)

Updated: 30 June 2025