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Information
| Unit | INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES |
| PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES (MASTER) (WITH THESIS) | |
| Code | FDB1704 |
| Name | Mind Body and Metaphyics |
| Term | 2026-2027 Academic Year |
| Term | Fall |
| Duration (T+A) | 3-0 (T-A) (17 Week) |
| ECTS | 6 ECTS |
| National Credit | 3 National Credit |
| Teaching Language | Türkçe |
| Level | Belirsiz |
| Type | Normal |
| Mode of study | Yüz Yüze Öğretim |
| Catalog Information Coordinator | Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Emine GÖÇER |
| Course Instructor |
The current term course schedule has not been prepared yet.
|
Course Goal / Objective
This course aims to examine fundamental metaphysical issues such as the mind–body problem, consciousness, personal identity, and the afterlife through the conceptual tools of analytical philosophy, enabling students to evaluate the theoretical significance of these debates for the philosophy of religion. Students learn to analyze, with conceptual precision, the impact of contemporary models in the philosophy of mind on the consistency, possibility, and rationality of religious claims.
Course Content
The course systematically addresses contemporary debates ranging from dualism to physicalism, personal identity to modality, and the phenomenon of consciousness to artificial intelligence consciousness, examining the relationship between these metaphysical models and topics such as religious experience, immortality, and the afterlife within an analytical framework. By demonstrating how conceptions of mind, self, and being shape fundamental arguments in the philosophy of religion, the course strengthens the student's skills in conceptual analysis and critical evaluation.
Course Precondition
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Resources
1. Koç, Turan. Ölümsüzlük Düşüncesi. İstanbul: İz Yayıncılık, 2005. 2. Güven, Özgüç. Çağdaş Zihin Felsefesi Tartışmaları. İstanbul: Vakıfbank Kültür Yayınları, 2024. 3. Demircioğlu, Erhan (ed.). Zihin Felsefesi Antolojicisi. İstanbul: Doruk Yayınları, 2025. 4. Heil, John. Zihin Felsefesi: Çağdaş Bir Giriş. Çev. Merve Bilgili, İstanbul: Küre Yayınları, 2020. 5. Swinburne, Richard. Beden Miyiz, Ruh Muyuz?. Çev. Arif Ozan Altun, İstanbul: İz Yayıncılık, 2024. 6. Bailey, Andrew. Zihin Felsefesi. Çev. Füsun Doruker, İstanbul: Fol Kitap, 2019. 7. Alston, William. Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991. 8. Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologiae, I.75–76. 9. Aristotle. De Anima. Translated by C. D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2017. 10. Brian P. McLaughlin and Jonathan Cohen (ed.). Contemporary Debates in the Philosophy of Mind, Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. 11. Descartes, Rene. Metafizik Düşünceler, Çev. M. Karasan, İstanbul: M.E.B. Yayınları, 1998. 12. Foster, John. The Immaterial Self: A Defence of the Cartesian Conception of the Mind, London: Routledge, 1991. 13. Gellman, Jerome. Experience of God and the Rationality of Theistic Belief. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997. 14. Heil, John (ed.). Philosophy of Mind, London: Routledge, 2004. 15. Hick, John. Death and Eternal Life. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994. 16. Hume, David. A Treatise of Human Nature. Edited by David Fate Norton and Mary J. Norton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 17. Jaworski, William. Philosophy of Mind: A Comprehensive Introduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. 18. Lewis, David. On the Plurality of Worlds. Oxford: Blackwell, 1986. 19. Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Edited by Peter H. Nidditch. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975. 20. Nagel, Thomas. “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” Philosophical Review 83, no. 4 (1974): 435–450.
Notes
1. Oderberg, David S. Real Essentialism. London: Routledge, 2007. 2. Perry, John, ed. Personal Identity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975. 3. Plantinga, Alvin. The Nature of Necessity. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974. 4. Plato. Phaedo, İngilizceye çev. D. Gallop, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975. 5. Rea, Michael, ed. Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 6. Reid, Thomas. Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1969. 7. Stump, Eleonore. Wandering in Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 8. Swinburne, Richard. The Evolution of the Soul. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 9. van Inwagen, Peter. “The Possibility of Resurrection.” International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9, no. 2 (1978): 114–121. 10. Zimmerman, Dean. “The Compatibility of Materialism and Survival: “The Falling Elavator” Model” Faith and Philosophy 16, no. 2 (1999): 194–212.
Course Learning Outcomes
| Order | Course Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
| LO01 | Explains the fundamental theories of the mind–body problem (dualism, physicalism, hylomorphism). |
| LO02 | Evaluates debates on self and personal identity within a religious context. |
| LO03 | Compares metaphysical models regarding the immortality of the soul and the possibility of an afterlife. |
| LO04 | Analyzes the concepts of consciousness, qualia, and phenomenal experience in the context of religious experience. |
| LO05 | Applies the concepts of modality, possible worlds, and necessity to the philosophy of religion. |
| LO06 | Interprets debates on essentialism and human nature from classical and contemporary perspectives. |
| LO07 | Evaluates the explanatory power of neurotheology and the cognitive science of religion over religious experience. |
| LO08 | Critically analyzes debates on artificial intelligence consciousness and religious consciousness. |
Relation with Program Learning Outcome
| Order | Type | Program Learning Outcomes | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLO01 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Students learn essential knowledge and approaches in the field. | 5 |
| PLO02 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Students have extensive knowledge about national and international studies in the field. | 4 |
| PLO03 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Students perform original researches on the field. | 5 |
| PLO04 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Gain sufficient knowledge about national and international studies in the field. | 3 |
| PLO05 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Can do original research in the field. | |
| PLO06 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Determines a topic from the proposals and develops a report on this issue. | |
| PLO07 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Discusses and presents the research report. | |
| PLO08 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Use individual and team work skills in national and international projects | |
| PLO09 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Recognize the basic sources of the field to use in scientific studies. | 5 |
| PLO10 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Effective use of a foreign language to follow international literature in the field | |
| PLO11 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Using higher order thinking skills (critical thinking, problem solving, creative thinking, decision making, reflection) | |
| PLO12 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | They can conduct their work independently and as a member of a team. | |
| PLO13 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Using scientific research skills in their work | 5 |
| PLO14 | Bilgi - Kuramsal, Olgusal | Follow ethical rules |
Week Plan
| Week | Topic | Preparation | Methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction: The Mind–Body Problem and Philosophy of Religion | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 2 | Self and Realism | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 3 | Dualism: Plato and Descartes | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 4 | Aristotle, Aquinas, and Hume | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 5 | Physicalism, Behaviorism, Functionalism, and Epiphenomenalism | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 6 | Personal Identity I | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 7 | Personal Identity II | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 8 | Mid-Term Exam | Exam Preparation | Ölçme Yöntemleri: Yazılı Sınav |
| 9 | Immortality of the Soul: Resurrection, Reincarnation, and Transformation of the Body | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 10 | Religious Experience and Consciousness: Qualia and Phenomenal Experience | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 11 | Modality and Possible Worlds: Necessity and Possibility | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 12 | Essentialism and Human Nature | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 13 | Mind Sciences and Religion: Neurotheology and Cognitive Science of Religion | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 14 | Artificial Intelligence and Religious Consciousness | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 15 | General Evaluation, Conceptual Analysis, and Student Presentations | Obtaining and Reading Relevant and Recommended Resources | Öğretim Yöntemleri: Anlatım, Soru-Cevap, Tartışma |
| 16 | Term Exams | Exam Preparation | Ölçme Yöntemleri: Yazılı Sınav |
| 17 | Term Exams | Exam Preparation | Ölçme Yöntemleri: Yazılı Sınav |
Student Workload - ECTS
| Works | Number | Time (Hour) | Workload (Hour) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Related Works | |||
| Class Time (Exam weeks are excluded) | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Out of Class Study (Preliminary Work, Practice) | 14 | 4 | 56 |
| Assesment Related Works | |||
| Homeworks, Projects, Others | 3 | 10 | 30 |
| Mid-term Exams (Written, Oral, etc.) | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Final Exam | 1 | 16 | 16 |
| Total Workload (Hour) | 156 | ||
| Total Workload / 25 (h) | 6,24 | ||
| ECTS | 6 ECTS | ||