PHIL321J

We seem to know our own minds -- our beliefs, desires, intentions, feelings, and sensations -- in a distinctive and particularly secure way. But although introspective self-knowledge is so familiar, it is difficult to account for. This course examines a range of philosophical problems associated with self-knowledge: What (if any) are the differences between self-knowledge and other knowledge, such as knowledge of other people's minds? Can plausible accounts of the process of introspection be reconciled with plausible accounts of the objects of self-knowledge (i.e., mental states and their contents)? Do we even have knowledge of our own minds? Prerequisite(s): one 200- or 300-level course in philosophy.