PHIL 310 - Seminar in Analytic Philosophy

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2020/21b: What Imagination Teaches. When you dream about flying, traipse across stage as a Shakespeare character, get mad when Harry Potter is a jerk in book 5, wonder how the world might have been had the Archduke Franz Ferdinand not been shot, guess what might cheer up your stressed-out friend during finals, salivate at the thought of baked mac & cheese, figure out just the right way to build a maze lab rats will find challenging, or conjure up a new piece of visual art, we could say you are using your imagination. What is this fantastic, mysterious mental faculty, and how does it work? Is imagination involved in mental imagery, pretend play, understanding fiction, empathy, counterfactual reasoning, problem solving, and creativity – or are these different mental activities altogether? Sometimes we say we “only imagined” an event, or that something was, “just our imagination”. Can imagination only ever mislead us, or might it sometimes teach us new things? Can we imagine things that are impossible? Can we imagine the perspective of someone unlike ourselves? Can people lack imagination, the same way people can lack sight? Finally: can we use our imagination to influence our social and political future? In this seminar, we discuss these issues, drawing on ancient and contemporary philosophers and scientists. Course focus is on sharing ideas through group discussion and introducing students to advanced research and writing methods in philosophy. Students are encouraged to pursue their own interests in writing their final pieces. Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa.

Prerequisite(s): One course in Philosophy, Cognitive Science, or Psychology, or permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS