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Philosophy of a Specific Discipline: Philosophy of Psychology

Master

Philosophy of Psychology is a specialisation of the MA programme in Philosophy of a Specific Discipline. The two-year Master’s programme in Philosophy of a Specific Discipline is intended for students in a particular academic discipline who are interested in the philosophical foundations and methodological aspects of that discipline.

For information about the objectives and general structure of the programme, the MA thesis and the requirements for graduation, please see the website of the MA in Philosophy of Specific Discipline. For a brief description of this specialisation click on ‘Informatie’ above.

Structure of the programme

First Year

  • 10 EC / MA course in Philosophy

  • 10 EC / MA course in Philosophy

  • 10 EC / Specialist MA course in Philosophy of Psychology

  • 30 EC / MA courses in Psychology

Second Year

  • 10 EC / Specialist MA course in Philosophy of Psychology

  • 10 EC / MA courses in Psychology

  • 10 EC / Literature Study in the area of the MA thesis

  • 30 EC / MA thesis

Eerste/Tweede Jaar

Vak EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Specialist MA courses in Philosophy of Psychology
Philosophy of Psychology I: Natural History of Mind 10
Philosophy of Psychology II: Natural History of Mind 10

MA courses in Philosophy
Ancient and Medieval Philosophy of Language and Semantics 10
Emotion, Cognition and Rationality 10
Filosofie van de literatuur II 10
Filosofie, psychiatrie en neurowetenschappen 10
Free Will and Determinism 10
History of Ancient Philosophy: Plato Timaeus: Science, Nature and Humanity 10
Morality and Rationality 10
Nietzsche and Politics 10
Political Obligation 10
Rationality and Action 10
Rechtvaardige en onrechtvaardige oorlogen. De traditie van de 'justum bellum' 10
Seminar Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics: philosophical issues, rhetorical aspects 10
The Great Debate over the Rationality of Science: Kuhn, Popper, Feyerabend, and the Vienna Circle 10
Truth and Truthfulness 10
Walter Benjamin 10
Wijsgerige antropologie 10
Wijsgerige antropologie IV 10
Wittgensteins Tractatus 10

Meer info

Description

The specialisation Philosophy of Psychology has yearly courses (seminars, tutorials, and supervised reading) on key problems in the foundations of psychology and cognitive science. Discussions typically concentrate on metaphysics (nature of the mind, consciousness, supervenience, constructivism, eliminativism), epistemology (perception and cognition, mental content, embodied cognition), and methodology (reduction, explanation, classical vs. neurocomputational approaches).

Although the problems targeted for discussion are traditional, they are addressed from a novel point of view which emphasizes the natural history of the mind. Assuming that the human mind is subject to historical development (as is now becoming increasingly plausible from work in evolutionary psychology, historical psychology, cognitive archaeology, and related disciplines), then a reconsideration of the ‘traditional’ problems and the ‘received’ solutions seems to be called for. Questions about the mind are traditionally raised and answered in an essentialist and a-historic vein. What are the consequences of adding a historical dimension to the problem field?

Specialisation co-ordinator

Dr. J.J.M. (Jan) Sleutels
mail@dassein.com