Undergraduate Course: Philosophy of Psychology (PHIL10081)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will survey philosophical issues particular to the scientific study of the mind, with a special focus on the methodology and explanatory practices of psychology. We will cover questions such as: Can subjective reports count as evidence? Is "unconscious inference" a coherent concept? Are there mental images? What can evolution tell us about our minds? Do mental representations considered as computational states "mean" anything?
The course is taught by Dr Alistair Isaac.
Formative feedback available;
- opportunity to submit a formative essay on Learn by week 6 deadline (Monday 24th February 2014)
- students can discuss essay plans with course organiser before the summative essay is due |
| Course description |
Week 1: What is (philosophy of) psychology?
Week 2: Explanation: 1st and 3rd Person
Week 3: Behaviorism
Week 4: Critiques of Behaviorism
Week 5: Unconscious Inferences
Week 6: Gestalt and the New Mechanism
Week 7: The Role of Meaning?
Week 8: Inference and Belief in Simpler Minds
Week 9: Evolutionary Psychology
Week 10: Imagery Debate
Week 11: Imagery Continued / Review
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 267 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
80 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Weekly participation (online web forum posts --- see Course Guide for details) (20%)
2. End-of-semester essay of 3,000 words (80%)
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
|
| Academic year 2015/16, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Quota: 5 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
80 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1. Weekly participation (online web forum posts --- see Course Guide for details) (20%)
2. End-of-semester essay of 3,000 words (80%)
|
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
Students who have completed this course should be able to:
* Examine the basic literature on psychological explanation
* Make use of the empirical literature in a philosophical context
* Critically discuss the evidential support for and theoretical significance of unconscious mental processes
* Critically evaluate the mental imagery debate
|
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Alistair Isaac
Tel: (0131 6)51 5174
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Richards
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: |
|
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|
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