9.35 | Spring 2009 | Undergraduate

Sensation And Perception

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to important philosophical questions about the mind, specifically those that are intimately connected with contemporary psychology and neuroscience. Are our concepts innate, or are they acquired by experience? (And what does it even mean to call a concept 'innate'?) Are 'mental …
This course provides an introduction to important philosophical questions about the mind, specifically those that are intimately connected with contemporary psychology and neuroscience. Are our concepts innate, or are they acquired by experience? (And what does it even mean to call a concept ‘innate’?) Are ‘mental images’ pictures in the head? Is color in the mind or in the world? Is the mind nothing more than the brain? Can there be a science of consciousness? The course will include guest lectures by Professors.
Learning Resource Types
Problem Sets with Solutions
The checkerboard illusion, illustrating simultaneous contrast.
The checkerboard illusion, illustrating simultaneous contrast. The squares marked A and B are the same shade of gray. (Image courtesy of Edward H. Adelson. Used with permission.)