ÇAĞ UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Learning Outcomes of the Course
Code
Course Title
Credit
ECTS
PSY 316
5
Philosophy of Psychology
(3-0)2
Prerequisites
None
Language of Instruction
Mode of Delivery
Face to face
English
Type and Level of Course
Elective/3.Year/Spring Semester
Lecturers
Name(s)
Contacts
Lecture Hours
Office Hours
Course Coordinator Assist.Prof.Dr.Timucin
[email protected]
Aktan
Course Objective
The goals of this course are threefold. We will try to come to an understanding of what
psychology, as a science of the mind, is and is not. Students will be introduced to a range
of central themes in the history of psychology. Along the way we will explore what it
means to adopt a naturalized approach to philosophy of science, and more generally what
it is to engage in philosophical studies of mind as the boundaries between philosophy and
the natural sciences are become more and more blurred.
Relationship
Students who have completed the course successfully should
be able to
Net Effect
Prog. Output
5
1
Gain an awareness of historical background and dedvelopment
1
of psychology as a discipline
5, 5
2
Develop an ability to describe and evaluate significant themes in
1, 3
philosophical psychology.
5, 5
3
Recognize explicit and implicit philosophical assumptions
1, 3
(ontological, epistemological) embedded in psychological
theories.
5, 5
4
Identify and evaluate such philosophical assumptions.
3, 4
5, 5, 4
5
Identify the related concepts in philosophical psychology and
3, 4, 8
formulate historically and logically argued theses about them
5
6
Acquire basic library skills to pursue research in the philosophy
6
of psychology.
5, 5, 5, 4
7
Recognize that all psychological enquiry takes place in a
1, 4, 6, 8
philosophical and historical context..
Course Description: Psychology purports to be the "science of the mind." But what should such an enterprise
look like? Indeed, to what extent are our mental lives amenable to scientific inquiry at all? Does the notion of free
will, for instance, preclude an appropriately scientific understanding of our behavior? Does the idea of
unconscious mental processes even make sense? In this course, we will investigate the philosophical
assumptions made by some of the most influential figures who have shaped psychology: James, Freud, Skinner,
Piaget, Kohlberg, and Wilson (to name a few). And we will examine the prospects of the movements within
contemporary psychology that they started: behaviorism, developmental psychology, cognitive science,
sociobiology, and cognitive neurobiology.
Course Contents:( Weekly Lecture Plan )
Weeks
Topics
Preparation
Teaching Methods
1
Lectures & Discussion
Introduction, Philosophical preliminaries
SM Textbook Ch.1
2
Presentation & Demonstration
Rene Descartes and the possibility of a
SM Textbook Ch.1
science of the mind
3
Presentation & Demonstration
Naturalizing the Mind: The philosophical
SM Textbook Ch.2
psychology of William James
4
Lectures & Discussion
Naturalizing the Mind: The philosophical
SM Textbook Ch.2
psychology of William James continued
MM Textbook Ch.1
5
Lectures & Discussion
Science and the Secret Self: The case of
SM Textbook Ch 3
Sigmund Freud
MM Textbook Ch.1
6
Presentation & Discussion
The Science of Behavior, Antimentalism, and
SM Textbook Ch 4
the Good Life: B. F. Skinner
MM Textbook Ch.2
7
Lectures& Discussion
Cognitive-Developmental Psychology, Part I
SM Textbook Ch 5
(Piaget)
MM Textbook Ch.3
8
Lectures & Discussion
Cognitive-Developmental Psychology, Part II
SM Textbook Ch 5
(Kohlberg)
MM Textbook Ch.3
9
Presentation & Demonstration
Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence:
SM Textbook Ch 6
Philosophical Assumptions
MM Textbook Ch.4
10
Presentation & Demonstration
Consciousness
SM Textbook Ch 8
MM Textbook Ch.5
11
Presentation & Demonstration
Consciousness continued
SM Textbook Ch 8
MM Textbook Ch.5
12
Lectures & Discussion
Minds, Genes, and Morals: E.O. Wilson's
SM Textbook Ch 7
13
Sociobiology
Conclusions: Grand and Otherwise
14
Overview
Textbook
Related links
MM Textbook Ch.6
MM Textbook Ch 6
Presentation & Demonstration
Presentation & Demonstration
None
REFERENCES
SM - Owen Flanagan, The Science of the Mind, 2nd ed., MIT.1997.
MM – William Lyons, Matters of the Mind, Routledge, 2001.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html
A Field Guide to the Philosophy of Mind:
http://host.uniroma3.it/progetti/kant/field/index.html
Dictionary of Philosophy of Mind:
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~philos/MindDict/main.html
Material Sharing
Activities
Midterm Exam
Quizzes and classworks
Effect of The Activities
Effect of The Final Exam
Contents
Hours in Classroom
Hours out Classroom
Homeworks
Classworks
Quizzes
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Selected articles
Number
1
4
ASSESSMENT METHODS
Effect
30%
20%
50%
50%
ECTS TABLE
Number
14
14
16
7
2
1
1
Notes
Total
Total
Hours
2
1
4
2
2
4
8
Total
Total / 30
ECTS Credit
RECENT PERFORMANCE
Total
28
14
64
14
4
4
8
60
136/30=4,53
5