This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

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Syllabus

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 session / week, 2 hours / session

Course Overview

The subject of this course is to discuss theories about how our minds work. We will emphasize aspects of thinking that are so poorly understood that they are still considered to be more philosophical than scientific. These issues have never been understood because of our traditional image of the mind as controlled by a single, central Self. The folly of this becomes obvious when you think about how to build systems to do things that might help answer questions like these:

  • How do children learn about morality and social goals?
  • How does one learn a new way to think to handle a new type of situation?
  • How do minds switch between different representations and methods of reasoning?
  • Why do we like jokes?
  • Why do we like music?
  • What are ideas?
  • What is pain and why does it hurt?
  • What is consciousness?
  • What use are emotions?
  • What is the nature of Self?
  • What controls the subjects you think about?

Our goal is to replace ill-defined folk theories of 'consciousness', 'self' and 'emotion' with other concepts that are more useful for engineers to build, psychologists to manipulate, and individuals to control.

Caveat Emptor

This course is for students who have already read The Society of Mind. Without that background, it will be hard to learn from the lectures. This subject is still highly speculative, and many students find that it lacks the precision found in more mature areas. Furthermore, people have different learning styles, and you may find my teaching style to be too experimental and improvisatory for you. Do not hesitate to drop the subject early if you find such an incompatibility. In any case, to help make the class seminar interactive, you should always come prepared with some issue to discuss.

Required Textbooks

Amazon logo Minsky, Marvin. The Society of Mind. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1988. ISBN: 9780671657130.

Amazon logo ———. The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2006. ISBN: 9780743276634.

Grading

There will be no final exam in this class. Your homework will consist of weekly directed reading responses, a brief proposal for a final project (not graded) and a final project.

ACTIVITIES PERCENTAGES
Discussion participation 20%
Weekly assignments 40%
Final project 40%

 

Calendar

SES # TOPICS KEY DATES
1 Introduction Problem set 1 out
2 Falling in love

Problem set 1 due

Problem set 2 out
3

Guest lecturer

Google™ video: Computers versus Common Sense by Doug Lenat

Problem set 2 due two days after Ses #3

Problem set 3 out
4 Attachments and goals

Problem set 3 due two days after Ses #4

Problem set 4 out
5 From pain to suffering Problem set 4 due two days after Ses #5
6 Consciousness Problem set 5 out
7 Consciousness (cont.)

Problem set 5 due

Problem set 6 out
8 Levels of mental activities

Problem set 6 due

Problem set 7 out
9 Common sense

Problem set 7 due

Problem set 8 out
10 Thinking

Problem set 8 due two days after Ses #10

Problem set 9 out
11 Resourcefulness Final project proposals due
12 Resourcefulness (cont.) Problem set 9 due two days after Ses #12
13 The self Final projects due