Colorado State University: PHILOSOPHY 415
Meat Based Computation
Monday August 27th's Class Meeting will take place in the Conference Room in the Philosophy Department (Room 243) on the Second Floor of Eddy.
Where: Eddy 9
When: MWF 12 p.m.
Instructor: Darko Sarenac
Office: Eddy 235
Phone: (970) 491-5441
Hours: Mon/Wed 1 - 2 p.m. and by appointment
Web: phil415.pbwiki.com
Email: Darko.Sarenac at colostate.edu
Text: The required text for the course is Mindware, Andy Clark. OUP, 2001.
Movies: Turing, Ghost in the Shell, Matrix, Bladerunner, Nice guys finish first, etc. suggestions
Final Paper Due: December 10, 2007, 11 p.m.
Course Description: We will explore the boundary between humans and a particular kind of machine, a computer, in a rigorous philosophical manner. Through our main text and supplements, but also through a series of movies and pop culture artifacts, we will tackle some of the following questions: are we simply computational machines? are there capacities that we have that escape a computational description? if the latter, which of our interesting capacities can be captured by a computer and are there in principle obstacles for capturing others? How intimate can we be with a nonbiological entities? Ethical consequences for machines and us, etc. The class will be run somewhat democratically. Youy can post suggestions for further topics, readings.
Course Requirements: Bi-weekly mini reflection/issue essays (400 words max) (30%), a final paper (2500-3000 words) (50%), and participation in discussions and web forum (20%).
It is your responsibility to:
* properly enroll in the class
* be clear on any announcements I make in class regarding–but not limited to–such things as exact exam dates, changes in the class outline, scheduling changes, etc.
* get all notes and handouts if you miss a class
* makeup any missed exams; unless made up, a missed exam scores a zero.
Assignments
Schedule of Lectures
Class Forum
Lead discussion, present
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