Is the Mind Inside the Head?

Bharath Vallabha

Assistant Professor
Bryn Mawr College

Thursday, April 9, 2009
4:30 p.m.
Papazian 324

Both dualists (who believe the mind is non-physical) and materialists (who believe the mind is the brain) share the assumption that the mind is inside the head. Recently Clark and Chalmers have argued that the shared assumption is false. They claim that some of a person's mental states are literally outside her body and in books, computers, phones and other objects she regularly uses in her daily life. I will argue that Clark and Chalmers' argument is unsuccessful and will suggest an alternate interpretation of the idea that the mind is not in the head.

All are welcome