Most people signing up for this course would say either that the mind is a sort of immaterial entity that exists in our heads or that it is the brain. We will review the philosophical and scientific origins of these two notions. Upon close examination both present conceptual perplexities. We will then consider alternative answers to this question which claim to resolve those problems. Finally, we will discuss why this is an important issue, not just a philosophical game.
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Forest earned a BA in English at Harvard, an MA in English at the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Johns Hopkins, and took graduate courses in Counseling Psychology at Northwestern University. For 35 years he taught a variety of courses in English and philosophy, as well as courses in Greek Civilization, Classics in Western Thought, and required MA interdisciplinary courses on various subjects, including the humanities, natural science, and social science. He co-created and directed a college travel program studying Ancient Greek and Byzantine Civilizations. After retirement he and his wife lived for 10 years in England, where Forest founded the first Great Books discussion group in that country and served as Parish Footpath Officer and secretary of the Alvechurch Village Society. He and his wife moved to Easton in 2003.
