The Great Debate: Modern Theory and the Human Mind
Day school held on Saturday 26th January 2002
Tutors: Caspar Hewett and
Kenan Malik
held at Centre for
Lifelong Learning, University of Newcastle
Are human minds qualitatively different from those of other animals? If not,
what is exceptional about human beings? Is it consciousness? Is it our capacity
for rational thought? Do we influence our own destiny or are we fooled into
thinking so?
Since the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species our vision of
ourselves as a unique type of being has been progressively undermined. In
particular, the last decade has seen the rise of mechanistic theories of the
human mind. Some claim that the mind and brain are one and that neurobiology
and AI will be able to reveal the nature of the mind. Others argue that our
experiences of consciousness and free will are illusions created by the way our
minds have been designed by natural selection. One recent theory, Evolutionary
Psychology, attempts to explain the human mind exclusively in terms of evolved
predispositions to behave in a particular way. This dayschool will examine
these themes through a study of recent theories of the human mind.
Selected notes
Modern Theory and the Human Mind by
Caspar Hewett
What Can Science Tell Us About Human Nature? by
Kenan Malik
