Philosophy of Mind

• Sub-branch of metaphysics
• Core issues:
  • The mind-body problem
    • The relationship between minds / mental processes and bodily states / processes.
    • Descartes (1641) the first to formulate the mind-body problem as it exists today. Proposed a substance dualism: the mind is an independently existing substance.
    • Bodies are objects with mass and location in space and time. But what is the shape, size, or location of your mind / thoughts?
  • The hard problem of consciousness
  • The nature of mental states