Naturalizing Intentionality · PHIL 281

About the seminar

This course examines the theories on intentionality and information theory, exploring foundational concepts, the evolution of naturalized intentionality, and the role of informational relations in shaping mental states. It delves into the quantification and transfer of information, emphasizing the significance of causality and the conceptual framework for understanding informational content.

Schedule

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Date	Topic	Reading
Thu1/12	Session 1Dretske 1 Handout	Dretske (1981) Knowledge and the Flow of Information [pp. vii-62], read the Preface, Ch 1: “Communication Theory,” and Ch 2: “Communication and Information.”
Thu1/19	Session 2Dretske 2 Handout	Dretske Knowledge and the Flow of Information [pp. 63-82, 171-189], read Ch 3: “A Semantic Theory of Information” and Ch 7: “Coding and Content.”
Thu1/26	Session 3Dretske 3 Handout	Dretske Knowledge and the Flow of Information [pp. 190-235], read Ch 8: “The Structure of Belief” and “Ch 9: Concepts and Meaning.”
Thu2/2	Session 4Millikan 1 Handout	Millikan (1984) Language, Thought, and Other Biological Categories [pp. 1-50], read the Introduction, Ch 1: “Direct Proper Functions,” and Ch 2: “Adadapted Devices and Adapted Derived Proper Functions.”
Thu2/9	Session 5Millikan 2 Handout	Millikan (1984) Language, Thought, and Other Biological Categories [pp. 85-126], read Ch 5: “Intentionality as a Natural Phenomenon,” Ch 6: “Intentional Icons: Fregean Sense, Reference, and Real Value Introduced,” and Ch 7: “Kinds of Signs.”
Thu2/16	Session 6Millikan 3 Handout	Millikan (1984) Language, Thought, and Other Biological Categories [pp. 127-158, 239-256], read Ch 8: “Hubots, Rumans, and Others: Case Studies of of Intensions, Senses, and ‘Stimulus Meanings’,” Ch 9: “Intension: The Third Aspect of Meaning,” and Ch 15: “The Act of Identifying.”
Thu2/23	Session 7Fodor 1 Handout	Fodor (1990) A Theory of Content [pp. ix-49], read the Introduction, Ch 1: “Fodor's Guide to Mental Representation,” Ch 2: “Semantics, Wisconsin Style.”
Thu3/2	Session 8Guest speaker: Susanna Siegel	Shoemaker (1970) “Persons and their Pasts”
Thu3/9	Session 9Fodor 2 Handout	Fodor (1990) A Theory of Content [pp. 51-87], read Ch 3: “A Theory of Content I: The Problem.”
Thu3/16	Session 10Fodor 3 Handout	Fodor (1990) A Theory of Content [pp. 89-136], read Ch 4: “A Theory of Content II: The Theory.”