# PHIL2230 Philosophy and Cognitive Science  URL of this document: https://hackmd.io/@joelau/phil2230 **Version 0.9** Note: This course outline will be updated throughout the semester. Second semester 2020-2021 ## Course description We shall look at some of the philosophical issues involved in the scientific study of mind and behaviour. We will discuss questions such as: Can we explain all mental phenomena in computational terms? What is consciousness? What is the role of language in thinking? How useful are neural networks in understanding the mind? ## General information - Lecturer: Dr. Joe Y.F. Lau, Dept of Philosophy, HKU. Email: [jyflau@hku.hk](jyflau@hku.hk) - Office: Room 10.13, 10/F, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus. - Use HKU Moodle for discussion about course content. - Tutors: - 6 credit units. Semester 2, 2020–21. ??? - Course website on HKU Moodle: https://moodle.hku.hk/ ## Lectures and tutorials * Slides for each topic will be posted to Moodle before each lecture. * Some lecture sessions might be organized as Q&A sessions, and you will need to read through a set of slides beforehand. * Arrangements after 21 Sept will be announced later and will follow official HKU policy. * You are required to attend tutorials for this course. Details on Moodle. ## Schedule and readings Required readings are marked [!] below, and the rest are highly recommended. You are expected to do the required readings for a lecture before attending. 1. Introduction * Ned Block. (2002). [Concepts of Consciousness](http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/block/papers/2002.concepts.pdf) In D. Chalmers (ed.) *Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings*, 206-219. 3. Attention * Jesse Prinz. (2011). [Is Attention Necessary and Sufficient for Consciousness?](http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/block/M&L2010/Papers/Prinz.pdf) In Christopher Mole, Declan Smithies & Wayne Wu (eds.), *Attention: Philosophical and Psychological Essays*. Oxford University Press, 174-204. 5. Attention * https://psyarxiv.com/cs8f4 7. Global * 8. Global * 9. HOT * Carruthers, Peter and Rocco Gennaro. (2020). [Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness](https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/consciousness-higher/). In Edward N. Zalta (ed.) *The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy* (Fall 2020 Edition). 10. HOT * https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1619316114 11. Split brain * Tye, M. (2003). [Consciousness and persons: Unity and identity](http://find.lib.hku.hk/record=HKU_IZ21445848020003414). MIT Press. Ch. 5. 12. Split brain * https://www.nature.com/news/the-split-brain-a-tale-of-two-halves-1.10213 * Pinto, Y., de Haan, E. H., & Lamme, V. A. (2017). The split-brain phenomenon revisited: A single conscious agent with split perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21(11), 835-851. * 10.1007/s11065-020-09439-3 * https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/141/6/e46/4958694 13. NDE * 14. NDE * https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6172100/ * https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6179462/ ## Assessment All individual assignments. More details will be provided later. Submission deadline is **before 10pm** on the day the assignment is due. - Arts Faculty grading guidelines: <http://arts.hku.hk/grade_expectations.pdf> ### Important: Policies about assignments - Plagiarism: This is the unacknowledged use of the work of others as your own. It is a serious offence at HKU. In some cases you might get expelled from the university. See <http://www.rss.hku.hk/plagiarism>. Essays that are submitted through Moodle will be scanned for plagiarism. - Use font size 11 or 12, around 1 inch / 2.5cm margin.