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Philosophy VI - Philosophy of Mind

Philosophy of Mind is mainly concerned with the following questions: What are mental properties and mental abilities? How can they be described and explained? In which relation do they stand to other kinds of properties, such as social and bodily properties? In tackling these questions, connections to and overlaps with other sub-disciplines within Philosophy and to other disciplines beyond Philosophy emerge, for example:

  • Ontology: concerning the nature of mental properties and the "mind-body-problem"
  • Epistemology: concerning self-knowledge and the problem of other minds
  • Philosophy of Language: concerning the meaning of mental terms and the relation between thought and language
  • Philosophy of science: concerning empirical methods for investigating the mind
  • Cognitive Sciences: concerning the functionality of mental abilities
    • Psychology, Psychiatry, Neurosciences, Linguistics, Informatics, Robotics

We are following an interdisciplinary, empirically informed approach within Philosophy of Mind, both in teaching and research.

Chairholder Prof. Dr. Gottfried Vosgerau is Director of the Düsseldorf Institute for Philosophy of Public Affairs (IPPA).

Currently Prof. Dr. Gottfried Vosgerau is substituted by Dr. Jan Michel.