Philosophical Issues in Brain Science
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this introduction to philosophy of mind as it intersects with contemporary psychology and neuroscience. Topics include whether concepts are innate or acquired, whether mental images function as pictures in the head, whether color exists in the mind or in the world, whether the mind reduces to the brain, and whether consciousness can be studied scientifically. The course includes guest lectures by philosophers and cognitive scientists alongside standard lecture materials, readings, and assignments drawn from MIT's Linguistics and Philosophy and Brain and Cognitive Sciences departments. Materials are freely available through MIT OCW under a Creative Commons license, with no certificate offered. The course suits students wanting a structured entry point into debates that sit at the boundary of empirical brain research and conceptual philosophical analysis, rather than a survey of either field alone.