Paper 1.
Instructions:
1. Write a
short (3-4 pages) paper on one of the following topics or on a topic of your
choosing (if you choose your own
topic, you are advised to clear it with me first). This paper is due 24 October, 2007.
2. The
paper should be double-spaced, with no more than 1" margins in a 12 point
font.
3. The
paper should be organized around an argument for a conclusion.
4. We've
covered considerable ground, but a well organized paper will focus on a single
issue or argument and develop a sustained response to that.
Topics:
1. Give three reasons why cognitive scientists have been inclined to treat thought as computation. Then consider one reason to be suspicious of the strategy. Explain the reason, and critically assess it.
2. Explain two of the following three positions regarding the relation of Ôfolk psychologyÕ to cognitive organization: Fodor's 'language of thought hypothesis', Dennett's instrumentalism, and Churchland's eliminativism. Explain what Ôfolk psychologyÕ is, and which position is, in your view, correct.