PHIL 3100
Philosophy of Mind
An introduction to philosophical' analyses of the nature of mind, especially those developed by contemporary philosophers. The focus will be on questions such as the following: What is a mind? How does it relate to a person's brain? How does it relate to a person's body and the external world? Can a mind exist in a very different kind of body (e.g., a computer or a robot)? Does thinking require a language-like code? If so, can non-linguistic species think? What is it to have a mental image or to experience pain? Prerequisites: one course in Philosophy at the 100 or 200-level, or permission of the instructor. Priority given to majors in Philosophy & PNP.
Instructors
Boyd Millar, Brandon Towl, Elizabeth Schechter, Evan Sommers, Jose Luis Bermudez, Matt Babb, Michael Barkasi, Rebecca Copenhaver, Zoe Jenkin
Reviews
2 or less hrs/week
a couple of quizzes and essays, but nothing was graded harshly. sommers was a cool guy, but lectures got a bit boring
7/28/2025
2-4 hrs/week
it was fine… the class wasn’t great but it wasn’t too bad either… i don’t think i really gained much and i went into the class really hoping i would. great hour and 20 minutes for getting homework done tho! and barmaid is a great guy! funny, Canadian, lenient with assignments and grading, allows drops! was just sometimes hard to do the work when the content went over ur head
5/23/2024
Her lectures are really boring and generally she feels quite dismissive of people who don't ask philosophically sound questions.
12/12/2023
Really enjoyed Philosophy of Mind. Matt is really engaging and super funny. He does have pop quizzes (but a set amount) and part of your grade is attending class. That being said, the class is very engaging and going to it was not a chore. Great class, great guy, take it if you can!
5/3/2018
It was a philosophy class, so I was expecting the worst, but she teaches and tests the basics. Exams were straightforward and essays were short and interesting to write. Each class, we reviewed the previous one.
5/14/2012
also took Inquiry to CogSci (201) with him. Towl is a nice guy and a good professor in the sense that he knew what he was talking about but he gave an unreasonable amount of work in both classes (9 group papers, 4 tests in Inquiry, 15-20 page paper in Phil of Mind.I don't know what the first comment is about because there were very few discussions.
5/7/2011
Towl is a great guy. The class was extremely interesting, and you'll be hard pressed to find a professor who is more willing to go out of his way for students. That being said, the content can be difficult at times, but is definitely manageable- just keep up with the readings!
12/21/2010
Can we say ****! This fellow from England has come to the states with a ruler shoved up his philosophical @$$. He was awful at teaching and bitter as all mighty hell. I strongly recommend that you prepare yourself before walking into this ridiculous class. He makes no sense with all his esoteric talk. He is arrogant and egocentric.
2/8/2008
This is the toughest professor I have encountered at WashU. He said, I quote, "I don't mind spreading F's like confetti". It's a shame too because the topic is interesting, but he is just discouraging. Intelligent guy. Sometimes helpful. Witty. But just know you'll have to work like hell in this class.
12/29/2007
Holy crap this class is hard, and really boring unless you enjoy deciphering long laborious sentences.
11/16/2007
Unless you are just really good at/into philosophy, he is hard, hard, hard!! He does hand out powerpoints, which is helpful, but the material is laborous. He is kind of intimidating, but still a very nice and obvioiusly intelligent prof.
11/1/2006
The material in the course is extremely dense, and you need to work hard to understand it. Prof Bermudez does what he can to point you in the right direction, but he won't to baby you. Don't take this as your first philo class, it helps to have other experience with this type of material. He's not mean-spirited, he's a prof not a buddy.
3/1/2006
What a waste of time. I swear, he's speaking English words but the sentences that come out of his mouth isn't English! I ended up memorizing his lectures word for word and regurgitated them on the test...didn't understand a word of it and won't try because Bermudez doesn't inspire you to.
12/17/2005
Hilarious, awesome teacher (yet it seems like almost no one realizes all the funny things he says). Makes you work hard and grades very tough, but only to force you to really understand the material.
12/5/2005
Bermudez tries to act funny but he isn't. The TA for this class is the worst. Unwilling to help. take some other class.
11/16/2005
Dr. Bermudez is a very, very smart guy. he seems to come up with impressive, robust, sophisticated arguments on the fly. he's not suited to teach a class below the 400-level. Also, he's a mean-spirited jerk. His harsh grading did, however, force me to work hard and learn a lot,
2/7/2005
He only gave out a single 'A' because most people were too stupid to be in the class. If you can't do philosophy, try the business school - Bermúdez isn't obligated to hold your hand.
12/25/2004
He gave out a single actual A!! Think about that before you take this class. (Oh, and there were more than 30 students in the class)
12/19/2004