PH 308 - Minds and Machines

Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hours: 0
Credit Hours: 3

Although it has no prerequisites, this course is intended primarily for students who have taken at least one philosophy course before. Some knowledge of psychology, electrical engineering, or computer science will also be helpful. The course will survey the major issues and theories involved in the philosophy of intelligence, natural and artificial. Participants will examine the major current, competing ideas about what the mind is, what consciousness is, and whether a machine could have a mind. In doing so, cadets will be guided to address such questions as: Is the mind the soul? Is the brain the mind? What is the connection between mind and behavior? Is the brain a kind of computer? Could any machine have a real mind?