What is is like to see with your ears? Animal Consciosness

You've got the hang of it now: Please post your questions and 20-minute responses to this week's reading under the comments section here. This might also be a good venue to make public some of the anecdotal outside sources that come up in discussion, too.

Per our usual routine, please post your questions and 20-minute responses to this week's reading under the comments section here. Per Kevin K's suggestion in class two weeks ago, this might be a good venue to make public some of the anecdotal outside sources that come up in discussion, too.

READING UPDATE: (In case you didn't already get this e-mail from Kevin K...)

Here is an update on today's reading. In Chapter 2 of Dennett's Intentional Stance, only read to page 35 (the photocopier accidentally included an extra 5 pages -- 37-42). Then read chapter 7 pages 238-260. Then read the "Reflections: Interpreting monkeys..." section. Also read the short Deacon section on vervet monkeys ("In Other Words" appears as a subtitle on the first page). Do not worry about reading Nagel's "What is it like to be a Bat" or the related Dennett reply. We will not get to it tonight. I hope your reading is going well, see you in class tonight.

Kevin

Language

Please post your questions and 20-minute responses to this week's reading (handouts from Davidson, Chomsky, Lakoff and Johnson, and Deacon) under the comments section here. Per Kevin K's suggestion in class, this might be a good venue to make public some of the anecdotal outside sources that come up in discussion, too.

On the Evolution of Human Behavior: Darwin, Wright, Marks, and Sartre

This week we will turn to the questions that arose near the conclusion of last week's discussion; namely, what do we make of the explanations of human behavior premised on analogies to animal behavior?

Please post your questions and your 20-minute attempt at an answer here. It would be helpful if you include your name in your comment. Also, it might be helpful for you to begin working out ideas for your papers here.

Until Wednesday.

Welcome to English 418/Philosohpy 493

We will use this blog to share our weekly twenty-minute writes.

Per the syllabus, for every section meeting, you will prepare one interpretative question and then attempt to answer this question. Your question should demonstrate that you have read thoughtfully and thoroughly; it should also spark discussion about the significance of the course texts. You should expect to write for 20-minutes in an attempt to answer your question.

To earn full credit, these quick writing assignments must be posted here by 4:00 pm each Wednesday. While the blog should provide an opportunity for dialogue (you are encouraged to respond to posts by your peers), you should also try to develop and answer your own questions about the texts.

As browsers are ephemeral things, and as you need to print these short writing assignments for each class, you should do your initial typing in a word processing program, cutting and pasting to this space when you are finished. You will submit a portfolio of all your weekly postings at the end of the semester.

As always, e-mail your instructors if you have any questions or concerns.

UPDATE: you should post your questions and answers in the comment section here.