Philosophy. Study the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality and existence.

What is consciousness and how is it produced by the brain?

This course provides an introduction to the philosophical issue of consciousness. We will discuss topics including: the current state of knowledge on what consciousness is; how it functions to produce the ‘reality’ of ourselves; and how it mediates our understanding of the world around us. We will also discuss the impact of quantum theory on theories of mind and the unity of consciousness, and creative/artistic consciousness. Our discussions will take an interdisciplinary approach by focusing on recent work (2019) in the philosophy of mind, neuroscience, socio-biology and medicine.

During this course, we will review material from various publications including Rethinking Consciousness (2019) by Michael S.A. Graziano, The Feeling of Life Itself (2019) by Christof Koch, and The Case Against Reality: How Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes (2019) by Donald D. Hoffman.

Aims

The aims of this course are to:

• provide an overview of the complexities of the many theories of consciousness
• demonstrate the important role theories of consciousness played in changing the philosophical ideas of what it means to be human
• discuss the interrelation between consciousness and the social world which we inhabit
• demonstrate the complex nature of the conscious states in relation to our ability to be creative.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you sh