Psychology/Philosophy

Module Code: PI4007

Module Name: Psychology/Philosophy

• ECTS Weighting: 5
• Semester/Term Taught: Hilary Term
• Contact Hours: 22 hours of lecture
• Module Personnel: Lecturer – Dr. Meredith Plug

Module Content

This course examines issues that cut across the disciplines of Psychology: the empirical study of the mind, and the Philosophy of Mind. Is the mind a computer; is thought computation? Does the mind have different modules (e.g. a language module, a moral module)…? Are our mental states located completely inside our heads or do they extend into the world? Are descriptions of our mental life that invoke concepts like 'belief' and 'desire' radically false; should they be replaced with talk of neural firings? The course examines philosophical questions about the status, methodology and basic concepts of Psychology (including the status, methodology and key concepts of Psychoanalysis). Finally the course investigates the bearing of empirical psychological research on the traditional philosophical questions. Does research on autism refute philosophical accounts of what it is for people to understand each others' utterances? Has psychological research shown that we lack Free Will?

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module, students will be able to:

• critically analyse theories of the nature of the mind/mental states;
• assess the bearing of empirical psychological data on questions in philosophy;
• pose and answer philosophical questions about psychology.