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General Description. There are brain-damaged patients who systematically exchange the left and right parts of the objects with which they interact. Other patients can see only one half of the objects, or can only eat from one half of the plate. Neuroscientists believe that cases such as these can help us understand how the brain represents the space around us‹the space in which we live and move and in which we locate ordinary objects and events. Philosophers, on the other hand, view the representation of space as a privileged entry point into the study of the external world. Different objects occupy different places and different parts of an object are spatially related to the whole, but where do these spatial properties come from? If nothing existed except a single hand, would it have to be either a left hand or a right hand? If not, what would explain the difference between that world and its mirror image? And why do mirrors reverse left/right but not up/down? The aim of this seminar is to bring together these neuroscientific and philosophical perspectives in a joint effort to better understand the two sides of space‹its inner representation in the brain and its outer realization in the objects around us.
 

Prerequisites. Instructor permission. Open to undergraduates and graduate students.
 

Requirements. The final grade will be determined on the basis of (a) class participation (20%) and (b) four short papers (80%). Papers will not be longer than 3 pages each and will address topics as-signed weekly. Students can choose as they see fit.
 

Readings. All required readings are collected in a packet available in the Psychology Department Library, 409 Schermerhorn Hall.
 

A left hand? A right hand?