Topic: Mind

Mind Games

Illustration from Jiaqi Emily Yan's animated short film "Mind Games" featuring a pink brain coloring on the sidewalk

This lesson can be used either in a classroom or online.  Plot Summary: In Jiaqi Emily Yan’s animated short “Mind Games,” a child sits bored at a school desk, trying to focus on classwork. Their brain jumps out of their head, stuffs it with books, and heads outside to play while the child robotically regurgitates Mind Games

Animal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots

parrot perched raising wings

For much of modern science, since the Enlightenment, animals were generally thought to be automatons:  materialist robots programmed to behave in certain ways.  Rene Descartes drew a sharp distinction between thinking beings, humans, and everything else, matter.  20th Century behaviorism continued to think of animals in this way but added humans to the mix.  “Mind” Animal Minds: puzzling over Puppies and Parrots

How Do We Decide Who Should Decide?

Medical Ethics and the State The role of the state (government) in Medical Ethics can be quite complex.  In these two articles (see links below), two perspectives are explored.  The famous Baby Theresa case involves a situation where the state prevents parents from acting to share their dying daughter’s organs.  The second case concerns a How Do We Decide Who Should Decide?