Representational Theory of Mind (LV / Seminar)

BA-KulT PHIL 3

BA-KulT FW 4, 6

MA-PHIL 2

MA-TGWT PHIL 4

MA-PHIL FW 25, 27

Phil FüS III

SE/HS                           Representational Theory of Mind

Di. 10-12 Uhr

Online-Seminar (Anmeldung über ISIS)

Beginn: 19.10.2021

Representational theory of mind forms the background of most modern cognitive science. It posits that organisms are able to behave intelligently because some of their brain states carry information about the environment, and brains are set up so that they register the information provided by these representational states. In this seminar we will examine the theoretical background of this theory. We will look at and evaluate the motivation behind the theory and its main variants. We will examine what makes a brain state representational, and what role representational states may play in explanations of intelligent behaviour. We will also consider whether the representational theory must be taken literally, or only as a useful fiction in order to do its job in explaining intelligent behaviour.