This course offers in-depth examination of selected contemporary theories and issues in philosophy of mind, such as theories of perception or of consciousness, and contemporary research examining whether minds must be embodied or embedded in a larger environment.

This year's course focuses on the problem of free will.

Instructor: William Seager.
Office: PO102:103.
E-mail: seager@utsc.utoronto.ca
Office Hrs: Tuesday 10-11am; Thursday 1-2pm, or by appointment.

Four Views on Free Will

John Martin Fischer, Robert Kane, Derk Pereboom, Manuel Vargas.

My goal is to get through all of the text book. That means reading about one and a half chapters every week on average, which is what we will aim for.

The final grade will be based two term papers (worth 35% of the final grade each), a set of weekly exercises to be handed in each week at class (worth altogether 5% of the final grade), and one seminar presentation (worth 25% of the final grade).

The Papers: these will be on topics to be provided on this web page. The paper should be no more than 2000 words long and no less than 1800 words long.
     Philosophy demands hard and careful thought, and such thought deserves clear and well organized writing for its expression. Some advice on writing philosophy papers will of course be provided in class. The author of our textbook also has some advice at the end of his book (see "Paper Writing Tips") and here are a couple of links: Peter Horban's Writing a Philosophy Paper; James Pryor's Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper.
     Note also that late essays are not acceptable unless you have a valid reason for not being able to produce the essay in a timely fashion. I *may* accept late essays one week late with a one grade (10%) penalty. Please discuss any problems with me.

The Weekly Exercises: these will be sets of questions about the current readings. The questions will mostly be obvious and based entirely on the readings. Your answers will not be graded - you will receive credit for handing in your work ON TIME so long as a good faith effort has been made. Altogether, they are worth 5% of the final grade so you needn't feel devastated if you miss one. But it's an easy 5% and will help you keep up with the reading.

The Seminar Presentation: these will be your presentation of a topic that comes in up in the readings. They should first provide a good overview of the ideas and arguments in the reading, and second should include questions and issues that will provoke discussion. You should aim to have your presentation take up 30 minutes or so (discussion may go one beyond that of course).

Tuesday, September 8, 2015: First meeting of PHLD87F, 1pm @ PO102.
Monday, September 17, 2015: Last day to add classes.
Monday, October 12, 2015: Thanksgiving (University closed).
Oct. 13-17, 2015: Fall Reading Week (no classes).
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 by 11:59pm: TERM PAPER I due. Topics here.
Thursday, November 19, 2015: Last day to drop F courses.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015: Final Class.
Monday, December 9@11:59pm, 2015: TERM PAPER II due. Topics here.
December 4-7, 2015: Study Break.
Monday, December 7, 2015: Last day to drop UTSC F courses and have them remain on the transcript with a grade of LWD indicating withdrawal without academic penalty.
December 8-22, 2015: Final Examination Period.

Week of Sept. 8: Introductory Meeting - Class Overview.
Week of Sept. 15: Reading ch. 1 up to p. 25 (end of section 6).
Week of Sept. 22: Reading to end of ch. 1.
Week of Sept. 29: Reading ch. 2, §§1-6.
Week of Oct. 6: Finishing ch. 2.
Week of Oct. 13: Reading Week.
Week of Oct. 20: Reading ch. 3, §§1-6.
Week of Oct. 27: Reading to end of ch. 3.
Week of Nov. 3: Reading ch. 4, §§1-4.
Week of Nov. 10: Reading to end of ch. 4.
Week of Nov. 17: Finishing ch. 4 (seminar); reading ch. 5.
Week of Nov. 24: Reading chs. 6 and 7.
Week of Dec. 1: Reading ch. 8.

Assignment 1, due Tuesday, September 15 (in class). (Get assignment 1.)
Assignment 2, due Tuesday, September 22 (in class). (Get assignment 2.)
Assignment 3, due Tuesday, September 29 (in class). (Get assignment 3.)
Assignment 4, due Tuesday, October 6 (in class). (Get assignment 4.)
Assignment 5, due Tuesday, October 20 (in class). (Get assignment 5.)
Assignment 6, due Tuesday, October 27 (in class). (Get assignment 6.)
Assignment 7, due Tuesday, November 3 (in class). (Get assignment 7.)
Assignment 8, due Tuesday, November 10 (in class). (Get assignment 8.)
Assignment 9, due Tuesday, November 17 (in class). (Get assignment 9.)
Assignment 10, due Tuesday, November 24 (in class). (Get assignment 10.)
No Assignment 11!