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A Teaching Company CLASSIC COURSEThe Philosophy of MindCourse Number 424—12 lectures (45 minutes/lecture)Taught by:Professor John R. Searle—University of California at Berkeley    â€œWhat is the nature of the human mind?” “How does the mind fit in as part of the physical world?” “Can the mind understand the mind?” Until we can answer questions such as these, we do not understand ourselves. In a way, these are the most important problems in contemporary intellectual life, because they naturally expand into questions such as “How do human beings fit into the physical universe?”    â€œWhat is the relation of the social sciences and the natural sciences?” “Do we have freedom of the will?” and many other questions.    Any discussion of these matters has to begin with the French philosopher René Descartes, who divided the world into two parts, mind and body. Much of the philosophy of the mind since Descartes has been an effort to put the two parts of the world back together again.    Professor John Searle, one of the world’s most respected contemporary philosophers, takes us on a journey of philosophical wonder, difficulty and understanding, to try to explain the many issues raised in this field of philosophical inquiry.    One of the most controversial questions discussed by Professor Searle is whether computers can think. This question is not as clear as it appears on the surface and Professor Searle clarifies it in such a way as to give us the possibility of a clear cut answer.    The issues raised by this course are the most central the mind can ask. It is a joy to have them explained and explored with so capable a guide.Lecture 1: Dualism— Descartes’ LegacyLecture 2: Alternatives to Dualism—Materialism and Its Contents Lecture 3: Strong Artificial IntelligenceLecture 4: The Chinese- Room Argument and Its Critics  Lecture 5: Can a Machine Think?