UVA Professor to Present Lecture on Philosophy of the Mind

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Brie Gertler, Commonwealth Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia, will discuss her ideas on whether the mind extends beyond the body in the third lecture of The University of Alabama’s 2014-2015 Philosophy Today series.

Her lecture, “Does the Mind Extend Beyond the Body?,” will be held Thursday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. in room 205 of Smith Hall on the UA campus.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Gertler is a leading authority on the philosophy of the mind. Her work focuses on answering questions about the mind, with special interest in self-knowledge, consciousness and personal identity.

In her lecture, Gertler will critically examine the argument that the mind extends beyond the limits of the human organism.

While philosophers claim that, for example, our smartphones store information such as friends’ telephone numbers and our daily plans, and this information partly constitutes our beliefs and intentions, as much as the information stored in our organic brains, Gertler argues that this does not demonstrate that the mind extends beyond the body.

Instead, she contends the mind is less extended, and more restricted, than ordinarily believed.

Gertler has authored several books, including “Self-Knowledge” and “Arguing About the Mind.” She is working on a book about the division between what is within the mind and what lies outside the mind.

Gertler received a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 and earned a doctorate in philosophy from Brown University in 1997. She held faculty positions at the College of William and Mary and the University of Wisconsin at Madison before joining the faculty at UVA.

Lectures in the Philosophy Today series are geared toward a general audience and are of interest to those in any profession or academic discipline.

Philosophy Today is sponsored by the UA College of Arts and Sciences’ department of philosophy, a grant from Louis W. Perry and other alumni, and friends of the department.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.