UCHUMPHI337.5 ECTSEnglishBachelor
Senior Philosophy Seminar - Human Minds, Animal Minds, Artificial Minds
Faculteit—
NiveauBachelor
Studiejaar2026-2027
Beschrijving
Course goals
After completing this course students:
Assessment:
Participation, preparedness, and attendance: 20% (LG: 1)
Term paper: 40% (LG: 1, 2, 3)
Final paper: 40% (LG: 1, 2, 3)
- have in depth knowledge of a specific theme or author in philosophy (Assessment: essays and/or exam, reading, attendance, discussions in class).
- are able to write, with supervision, a sophisticated (by undergrad standards) essay on the theme or author of the course. (Assessment: essays).
- Main goal: are able to do independent research on a specialized topic in philosophy. (Assessment: essays).
Assessment:
Participation, preparedness, and attendance: 20% (LG: 1)
Term paper: 40% (LG: 1, 2, 3)
Final paper: 40% (LG: 1, 2, 3)
Content
Intended for students with a specific interest in advanced research and an eye towards post-graduate studies in philosophy, this course is designed to meet the needs of students who wish to develop greater depth in their philosophical studies.
The course consists of rotating content based on the expertise of philosophy teachers at University College. It is organized thematically, and requires students to follow three seminars of five weeks each treating main categories of philosophical investigation, such as metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, aesthetics, ethics, philosophy of mind, language, religion and science.
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Topic for Fall 2026: Human Minds, Animal Minds, Artificial Minds
Humans have minds. We never even doubt it. The trick is to work out what it means to have a mind. We find this exceedingly difficult, and while the philosophy of mind, psychology, and neuroscience have offered us many useful insights, the results remain, at least partially, incomplete. The big question seems to remain: what is consciousness? But as our understanding of the human mind grows, we must begin to wonder if there are other, evolutionarily similar beings, that also have minds. Do animals have minds too? Are they conscious; can they reason?
And with the rapid development of artificial intelligence since the Dartmouth conference of 1956, a new question has arisen: can machines have minds too?
This seminar brings these three themes together, with a focus on how they relate to one another. What is the mark of the mind in humans? Can we detect such a ‘mark of the mental’ in other animals too? And what would it take for a machine to count as minded?
In this semester’s seminar we will read articles from the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of animal minds, and the philosophy of artificial intelligence. The goal is to get a clearer view of where the human mind stands in relation to these other two, relatively new, candidates for consciousness.
And with the rapid development of artificial intelligence since the Dartmouth conference of 1956, a new question has arisen: can machines have minds too?
This seminar brings these three themes together, with a focus on how they relate to one another. What is the mark of the mind in humans? Can we detect such a ‘mark of the mental’ in other animals too? And what would it take for a machine to count as minded?
In this semester’s seminar we will read articles from the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of animal minds, and the philosophy of artificial intelligence. The goal is to get a clearer view of where the human mind stands in relation to these other two, relatively new, candidates for consciousness.
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