Between Intention and Action (Spring 2023)

An overview of kinds of intentions and theories of action provides the groundwork for the core question of this seminar: how do human minds bridge the gap between intending to do something (e.g., go on vacation, attend a seminar, or drink a cup of coffee) and acting—or failing to act—on those intentions?

Transformative Experience (Fall 2022–23)

Based on the book by L. A. Paul (Transformative Experience, 2014, OUP Oxford), this seminar considers and evaluates the impact of unprecedented subjective experiences on our capacity to imagine and compare future scenarios. Is having a child a rational decision? According to the standard model of rational decision-making, an agent should choose the act with the highest expected value. Paul contends that it is impossible to know what epistemically and personally transformative experiences would be like for us before we commit to them. This seminar assesses the problem of transformative experience against some common views in theories of decision-making.

Mental Representations (Spring 2022)

It is widely agreed that the mind represents things and events in the external (and internal) world. There is less agreement among philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists on how the mind represents. Students in this seminar will engage with major theories and debates concerning the nature, contents, and roles of mental representations in human cognition.

 Philosophical Problems in Decision-Making (Fall 2021–2022)

Which route should I take to get to the department (out of three possible options)? Who should be—or should have been—prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines in our society? What distinguishes an ordinary choice, such as ordering at a restaurant, from a political decision with massive societal impact? How do we decide to move our bodies in the environments we inhabit? Which cognitive capacities underlie our choices?

Addressing these and related questions provides a philosophical inquiry into key issues in decision theory, including conceptions of utility and rationality, practical reasoning and heuristics, the effect of mentally representing choices, and whether—and to what extent—we can compare values.