Welcome to Theory of Mind before 1880

Before Psychology was formalized into a scientific discipline, the task of investigating the mind fell to those who called themselves 'natural philosophers' and 'speculative psychologists'. While they are now categorized as Philosophers, Logicians, and Social/Political theorists, these thinkers did not know such disciplinary divisions. To them, the mind required study, and many different approaches had insight to share. In this class, we trace the scientific study of the mind from its conception in the work of Descartes and Bacon through the empiricists and up to the founding of Psychology as an independent discipline in the late 19th century..

About

This class comes out of my dual interests in the history of British Philosophy from the Elizabethan-Victorian era, and my current research in the cognitive science of perception. The interdisciplinarity that is required of cognitive science is not particularly new to the academy. In fact, there is a very real sense in which the hard and fast disciplinary boundaries-esp. those between the humanities and social sciences-are recent and artificial inventions. But you'll learn that later in this semester. Back in the 1700's and 1800's, people from all over the academy were interested in and professed to study the human mind. These are the people this course will introduce. As with many things in Philosophy, you'll just be getting a taste of the vast collection of largely forgotten scholarship from these two centuries. Some of their theories may seem naïve, but many are astonishingly prescient.

Dr. Peter Bradley

Assistant Professor of Philosophy
McDaniel College

Office: BMC 110
Hours: MW 1-3.

Email: pbradleyATmcdaniel.edu

Specializes in Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Cognitive Science

Links

Peter Bradley at Google

Official Stuff

Professional Site
Peter Bradley at Departmental site
Departmental Site

Projects

The Inquiry Project
Teaching Philosophy Blog
CCSI Blog
Flash-based Turing Machines
Trends in Philosophy
Simple Flash-based Logic Tools

Personal

Peter Bradley's Web Site
Peter Bradley's Personal Blog
Peter Bradley on Facebook
Peter Bradley on LinkedIn
Peter Bradley on Orkut

Notes

Syllabus

Phil 2266

Section 1
BMC 100
TTh 3:00-4:30

Syllabus

Phil 2266

Section 1
BMC 100
TTh 3:00-4:30

Description

Before Psychology was formalized into a scientific discipline, the task of investigating the mind fell to those who called themselves 'natural philosophers' and 'speculative psychologists'. While they are now categorized as Philosophers, Logicians, and Social/Political theorists, these thinkers did not know such disciplinary divisions. To them, the mind required study, and many different approaches had insight to share. In this class, we trace the scientific study of the mind from its conception in the work of Descartes and Bacon through the empiricists and up to the founding of Psychology as an independent discipline in the late 19th century..

Structure

This course is an middle-level course meant to introduce students to this history of the philosophy of mind and its relationship to the social and behavioral sciences.

The first 1/2 of the semester will be focused on the historical philosophers that built the notion of an empirical theory of the mind. The 2nd 1/2 of the semester will focus on those who founded psychology, sociology and anthropology in the late 19th century.

During the second 1/2, class time will be taken up with presentations on the readings. Students will present the readings and some possible critiques to open the discussion in the class. I hope to be able to cover 1-2 readings a class session. I've cited secondary sources and places for 'further' research. You will need to take advantage of these in the preparation of your presentation. When you present, your task is to explicate the reading in front of us as clearly as you can. But - sometimes that is aided by understanding what others have said about the reading, or about how this reading fits into the tradition. These secondary and further sources will aid in that effort.

Honor Code

As members of the McDaniel college community, I expect that we are all committed to upholding and abiding by our honor system. That means that I will do everything I can to make possibly ambiguous assignments clear and that you are obligated to report any violations. I require that all written work be submitted with the signed honor pledge "I have neither given or received unauthorized aid on this piece of work, nor have I knowingly tolerated any violation of the Honor Code". I will not grade any assignment without such a signature.
Finally, when in doubt, ask. There will be cases, if not in this class, then in others, where the line between citation and plagiarism is vague. And there will be cases in which the line between helping a friend and doing their work will be crossed. Your best bet in finding the line is to ask me. If you ask before hand, you have nothing to worry about. If you wait until after, it might be too late.
As I mentioned before, following the practices of good writing (never quote from a secondary source, never use imagery you have seen before, or an example that has been used by someone else) will keep your writing away from any suggestion of plagiarism.

Objectives

• To gain an appreciation of the early history of psychology, psyciatry, philosophy and their shared intellectual heritage.
• To explore the how our conceptions of the mind effect the disciplinary divisions found in the contemporary academy.
• To develop analytic skills, both in the analysis of text, verbal presentations and written work.
• To develop a familiarity with a few of the main theories of mind: what are the entities of the human mind, and how they interact.
• And most importantly: to question everything.

Materials

Requirements

The college believes that "liberally educated men and women think and act critically, creatively and humanely." I expect nothing less. Whether it be in the classroom, in written assignments, and in your preparation for class, I expect you to think and act critically, creatively and humanely.

Attendance: Given the active nature of the course, regular attendance is mandatory. Attendance and participation are a major part of your overall grade (10-15%) and every absence counts. If you must miss a class, please inform me before the class begins so I can restructure the session if necessary. A quick email is sufficient. If you miss more three times, it will begin impact your grade significantly.

Classroom conduct: No cellphones! (or text messaging, pagers, blackberry, PDAs, etc. UNLESS they are being used for taking notes, recording discussions, sending text messages to Sam Paxton, etc).
The readings on the calendar below should be completed before the class begins. These are the readings we will be discussing in class, so if you haven't read the material, you won't have anything to add to the discussion.

Information Technology: I do use blackboard occasionally. There is a copy of this syllabus available, and I will be updating assignments over the course of the semester. In case of conflict or confusion regarding due dates or scheduled readings, between the website and this document, the website always takes precedence.

Special Accommodation: If you are in need of special accommodation, please see me at least 48 hours before the event for which you would need accommodation. I can be very flexible if approached in a timely manner. Making changes after the fact is difficult if not impossible.

Assignments / Evaluative Criteria

Papers & Presentations: There will be two short papers over the course of the term, both in conjunction with a presentation. These presentations will be linked to one of the readings. You will have some flexibility in choosing your topic, but your will have to complete at least one before mid-term.
Presentations During your presentation, your primary task will be to explain the reading. As a secondary task, you should be prepared to offer some critique or line of questioning about the reading. You should prepare a 1-page handout that summaries the main points, and points your fellow students towards further resources. NEW We now have the Philosopher's Index! For this semester, I want each of you to get at least 5 sources from the Index for each presentation. You should review the abstracts and judge their suitability for connection to the critique and/or interpretation you will be offering. That should be included on the handout. This will not only help other students, but if you choose to write your final paper on this topic, you'll have a leg up.
Presentation Papers The papers associated with a presentation are expository in nature. As with the presentation, I'm looking for an accurate depiction of the author's arguments. There are, of course, points at which interperations may differ, but the main task is charitablly reconstruct and analyze author's argument.
Final Paper The final paper is a research paper. You can start with your presentation paper, if you so choose. This is a longer, original paper on a topic of your choice. I reserve the right to be involved in the process of refining topics.
One last note on academic honesty. It is good academic practice to quote only from primary sources. It is also good practice to use clear, original examples to illustrate your point. If you follow both of these rules, many of the so-called 'borderline' plagiarism cases will never arise.

All papers are evaluated with respect to clarity, precision and sophistication of the argument / thesis presented. Oral presentations are evaluated with respect to many of the same criteria, but for the most part can be tailored to exposition, rather than criticism or analysis.

Assignment	Value
Paper 1	25%
Paper 2 / Presentation	25%
Final Paper	35%
Attendance and Participation	15%

Assignments are subject to change according to the flow of the class. In particular, I may replace a paper with a midterm, or a paper with a presentation, or vice versa. Ratios will, however, remain more or less the same: a majority of your grade depends on your final exam and final paper.

Calendar

Week 1	Introduction - the Pre-History
8/25	Welcome - Brief history of the field	Also:
8/27	Plato, Aristotle (selections)*
Week 2	Modernity
9/1	Bacon (selections)*	Also:
9/3	Descartes (selections)
Week 3	The empiricists
9/8	Hobbes: Selections from The Leviathan*	Also:
9/10	Locke: Selections from Essays Concerning Human Understanding
Week 4	The empiricists (minor)
9/15	Hume Enquiries	Also: Berkeley - selections from Theory of Vision* Hutchinson - Selections from Essay on the Nature and Conduct of the passions with Illustrations on the Moral Sense* Condillac - Selections from Traite des Sensations*
9/17	Hume Enquiries
Week 5	Outside Phil for the 1st time
9/22	Smith - A Theory of Moral Sentiments
9/24	Smith - A Theory of Moral Sentiments
Week 6	Reaction to the empiricists - Passions and the a Priori
9/29	Rousseau - "Essay on the Origin of Language"*	Also: Mesmer
10/1	Kant - Prolegomena
Week 7	Early Psyciatry/TD>
10/6	Pinel Theory of Insanity (selections) (1801)*	Also: Mad, Bad and Sad Ch 1.
10/8	Wollstonecraft - Vindication of the rights of women* Charlotte Perkins Gilman "The Yellow Wallpaper"*
Week 8	The spread of empiricism
10/13	No Class - Fall Break.	Also: Esquirol - Mental Maladies* (1812) and Mad, Bad and Sad Ch 2.
10/15	Brown Sketch of a system of the philosophy of the human mind (1820)* Reid An inquiry into the human mind on the principles of common sense (1820)*
Week 9	Spread of empiricism
10/20	Comte Introduction to Positive Philosophy (1830)*	Also: Perceval, J.T. "A narrative of the treatment experienced by a gentleman, during a state of mental derangement…"*
10/22	Sainte-Beuve "Port. Lit. 1 (selections)" (1841)* Boole - The Laws of Thought introduction. (1854)*
Week 10	More Reactions
10/27	Hegel "The Philosophy of Spirit" (1816)*	Also: Serendip: The Rise of Experimental Psychology. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/Mind/EpistemologyoM.html
10/29	Mill The Logic of the Moral Sciences (1843)* Hamilton Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic (1859)*
Week 11	Psychology coming into its own - The Bad and the Ugly
11/3	Cartwright "Diseases of the Negro Race"* Hunt "Introduction to Anthropology"*	Also: Three generations, no imbiciles (Library)
11/5	Spencer, H. "The Comparative Psychology of Man"* Galton, F. "Hereditary talent and character."*
Week 12	Psychology coming into its own
11/10	Broca - "Loss of Speech, Chronic Softening and Partial Destruction of the Anterior Left Lobe of the Brain" (1861)* Broca - Remarks on the Seat of the Faculty of Articulated Language,Following an Observation of Aphemia (Loss of Speech)" (1861)* Fechner "Elements of psychophysics" Wundt - "Central Innervation And Consciousness" (1876)*	Also:Daston, L. (1978) "British Responses to Psycho-Physiology, 1860-1900" Isis 69(2) p192-208*
11/12	Clifford - "Mind and Body" (1874)* Huxley - "On the hypothesis that animals are automata, and its history" (1874)* James - "Are we automata?" (1879)*
Week 13	Back to the 'Mind' bit
11/17	Beneke - The Elements of Psychology (selection)* Brentano - Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint*	Also,
11/19	Lewes - "Conscious and Unconscious" (1879)* Maudsley - "The Physiology of Mind" (1876)* Bain Mental and Moral Science (selections)*
Week 14	Psychology becoming self-reflective
11/24	Stewart - "Psychology: A Science or a Method?" (1876)* Hall - "Philosophy in the United States" (1879)* Lewes - "Problems in the life of the mind" (1879)* Galton - "Statistics on mental imagery" (1880)* Green - "Can there be a natural science of man?" (1880)*	Also: Darwin (1877) "Biographical Sketch of an Infant"*
11/26	No Class- Thanksgiving Break
Week 15	Intentional Founding of new discipline
12/1	Hebbart - "Possibility and necessity of applying mathematics in psychology" (1876)* Dilthey - Introduction to the Human Sciences(1883)* Sully - Outlines of Psychology (1884)* Ward - "What is psychology" (1902)*	Also: Darwin, (1872) The expression of emotions in man and animals
12/3	James - The Principles of Psychology (selections) (1890)* Spencer - The Principles of Psychology (selections) (1899)*

* - in PDF on blackboard.