Philosophy: Philosophy of Mind

A comprehensive and up-to-date collection of definitions and brief scholarly discussions of key terms in the Philosophy of Mind. Also includes brief biographical sketches of important figures in cognitive science.

The leading U.S. organization for discussion between (analytic) philosophers and (mainly cognitively oriented) psychologists.

A New and Challenging Philosophy of Mind.

The main institutional center for Consciousness Studies. Host of the Tucson"Toward a Science of Consciousness" conferences, and periodically stages on-line courses on aspects of Consciousness Studies.

This page makes available online versions of many recent (1987-1997) published and unpublished articles, and reviews, by this influential and unusually readable philosopher (and by some of his associates).

The interdisciplinary study of mind and intelligence. From the Stanford Encyclopedia, by Paul Thagard..

Thousands of entries, categorized by subject matter. From David Chalmers.

The classic 1950 article by Alan Turing on machine intelligence, where he introduces the famous Turing test.

This paper by Andy Clark and David Chalmers proposes an active externalist theory of mind - that when we use tools such as paper or computers to aid in our cognition, they become part of our minds.

Argumentation maps propose to map the detailed structure of major philosophical debates in graphical form. Portions of the map of the "Can Computers Think?" debate are now available online.

Movement in cognitive science which hopes to explain human intellectual abilities using artificial neural networks. From the Stanford Encyclopedia, by James W. Garson.

A mental representation is a mental object with semantic properties. According to the Representational Theory of Mind, psychological states are to be understood as relations between agents and mental representations. Article from the Stanford Encyclopedia, by David Pitt.

Condensed edition of Descartes' 'Meditations', with study notes and glossary.

Evaluates the theory that holds that states and processes of the mind are identical to states and processes of the brain. From the Stanford Encyclopedia, by J. J. C. Smart.

Discusses the view that mental events are caused by physical events in the brain, but have no effects upon any physical events. From the Stanford Encyclopedia, by William S. Robinson.

Discusses the contention that a given mental kind (property, state, event) is realized by distinct physical kinds. From the Stanford Encyclopedia, by John Bickle.

By Robert H. Wozniak, Bryn Mawr College. History of philosophical and scientific reactions to "the Cartesian impasse". Spanish translation available.

Argues that epiphenomenalism, identity theory and parallellism are all incoherent. Unless one denies consciousness only dualistic interactionism and idealism remain viable.

Survey articles on key issues in the field, and an annotated bibliography.

History and philosophical accounts of unity of consciousness; from the Stanford Encyclopedia by Andrew Brook.

Theories which explain conscious states by their relations to higher-order representations of them; from the Stanford Encyclopedia by Peter Carruthers.

Discussion of the connection between phenomenal consciousness and intentionality; by Charles Siewert.

The doctrine that mind is a fundamental feature of the world which exists throughout the universe; from the Stanford Encyclopedia by William Seager.

Site examining the hypothesis that we are currently living in an "ancestor simulation" run by a future, post-human society. Includes papers and research links.

Transcript from a live online chat with David Chalmers on September 25th 2002.