Development of Mind and Science: Philosophical Inquiries

obligatory courses

Student are able to read and understand academic texts in English.

Classroom

The seminar investigates the nature of development. We will discuss the texts on three types of processes: (1) our development as entities capable to think and act, (2) the emergence of human species as social beings, (3) the development of modern science. In the course of our discussions the teleological nature of development will be put into the question: is development aimed at any goal by necessity?

In the course of the seminar we will discuss texts on three types of developmental processes: (1) our development as entities capable to think and act, (2) the emergence of human species as social beings, (3) the development of modern science. The seminar has a form of an open and critical discussion. Students will be constantly invited to provide their own critical analyses of the arguments raised in the texts.

The seminar’s goal is to investigate the nature of development. In particular, the teleological nature of development will be put into the question: is development aimed at any goal by necessity?

The plan of the seminar meetings:

INTRODUCTION – the variety of types and interpretations of developmental processes (2h).

I. DEVELOPMENT OF MIND AND AGENCY (8h):

1. Understanding the social world. Do we develop the theories of others’ minds to interpret others’ behaviours? (4h).

1.1. The reconstruction of the concept “theory of mind” and the analysis of the phenomenon of mind blindness (2h).

Reading: Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Metzoff, Patricia K. Kuhl, The Scientist in the Crib, Ch. 2.

1.2. The difference between the social and non-social cognition (2h).

Reading: Alison Gopnik, Andrew N. Metzoff, Patricia K. Kuhl, The Scientist in the Crib, Ch. 3.

2. Rationality and emotions. Is the mind grounded in our bodies or emotions? (4h).

2.1. The story of Phineas Gage and the principles of the Cartesian dualism in the philosophy of mind. Alternatives to a dualism in the philosophy of mind (2h).

Reading: Antonio Damasio, Descartes’ Error. Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain, Ch. 1 and 2.

2.2. The somatic marker hypothesis in the confrontation with a dualism in the philosophy of mind.

Reading: Antonio Damasio, Descartes’ Error. Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain, Ch. 8.

II. EMERGENCE OF HUMANS AS SOCIAL BEINGS (8h):

1. The social sphere of our non-human relatives and the development of humans’ social structures (4h).

1.1. Introduction. The social structures of the primates and “the sense of touch” (2h).

Reading: Robin Dunbar, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, Ch. 2 and 3.

1.2. The benefits and limitations of anthropomorphism. The roots of morality.

Reading: Frans de Waal, Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved, Part I (fragments).

2. What is the language for? Two ideas about the role of language – “the communication of thoughts” vs “the organization of collective actions” (2h).

Reading: Robin Dunbar, Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language, Ch. 7 and 8.

3. How our concepts of mind have changed in the modern times? The history of the notion “tabula rasa” (2h).

Reading: Steven Pinker, The Blank State. The Modern Denial of Human Nature, Part I (fragments).

III. DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN SCIENCE (8h):

1. Introduction. The two paradigms of the history of science and two concepts of scientific development: a cumulative and revolutionary (2h).

Reading: Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Ch. 1 and 2.

2. Anomaly – the ground for scientific discovery (2h).

Reading: Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Ch. 6.

3. Crisis – the ground for a new theory (2h).

Reading: Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Ch. 7.

4. Science behind the scenes. Scientific research in a sociological perspective (2h).

Reading: Latour, B. (2005) Reassembling the Social – An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory, Part I (fragments).

REVISION (2h)

TEST (2h)

• Damasio, A. (1994) Descartes’ Error. Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain, Putnam Publishing.

• Dunbar, R. (1996) Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language.

• Gopnik, A., Metzoff, A. N., Kuhl, P. K. (1999) The Scientist in the Crib, Harper Collins Publishers Inc.

• Kuhn, T. (2012) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 4th ed., University of Chicago Press.

• Latour, B. (2005) Reassembling the Social – An Introduction to Actor-Network Theory, Oxford University Press.

• Pinker, S. (2002) The Blank State. The Modern Denial of Human Nature, Harvard University Press.

• de Waal, F. (2006) Primates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved, Princeton University Press.

Graduates:

- explain the role of the concept “theory of mind” in the theories of social cognition;

- reconstruct arguments against the Cartesian dualism;

- explain the role of emotions in the humans’ rationality;

- recognize the similarities in the social and cultural structures of humans and primates;

- reconstruct the arguments for the thesis that humans’ morality is the outcome of evolution;

- define two paradigms in understanding of the role of language;

- define two paradigms in the history of science;

- explain the meaning of the term “paradigm” in Kuhn’s theory of scientific revolutions;

- evaluate the key arguments in a debate on the teleological nature of development.

K_U02; K_U04; K_K07; K_K08

Students will be evaluated as follows:

1 Presence at the seminar (1 absence allowed)

2 Participation in discussions

3 Results of the each-meeting tests concerning discussed text. Tests take place during the first 5-10 min. of the meeting. Test to download at the seminar's web site.

4 The result of the final test (the last seminar meeting)

5 Introductory speech to the discussed text (for volunteers)

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