PHIL 50.18 Animal Minds
This course focuses on questions about the minds of nonhuman animals. We will consider what kind of thought, if any, is possible for beings that lack language. Can animals have propositional thought? What limits are there on the contents of nonlinguistic thought? We will also consider other aspects of mentality: Can animals feel pain? Can they suffer? Are they conscious? Finally, we will consider the ethical implications of the answers we find to the above questions.
Prerequisite
Two Philosophy courses, or permission of the instructor.