Research subject Philosophy of Mind

Philosophy of mind investigates a broad set of questions concerning the mind and its nature. One set of issues relates to the so called mind-body problem. This includes research on the nature of consciousness, its relation to the brain and to behavior.

Issues concerning the mind include mental content and intentionality and the fact that the mind represents the world. Questions discussed include to what extent mental representation depends on features of the subject’s external environment and whether there is anything intrinsically normative about mental content.

In addition, philosophy of mind examines the nature of specific types of mental states, propositional attitudes such as belief and desire or sensory states such as pain. In the case of propositional attitudes, central questions concern their role in reasoning and action as well as their relation to emotions. Discussions also involve issues relating to rationality, such as evidence resistant belief formation, and the role of implicit reasoning.