Global Arc

This course will introduce students to foundational philosophical issues concerning consciousness and to integrate these with empirical approaches. The course will begin with key philosophical concepts and theories (e.g. functionalism, qualia, access versus phenomenal consciousness). It will then turn to key empirical paradigms and models (e.g. change blindness, blindsight, partial report methods and signal detection theory). Throughout the aim will be to consider how philosophical assumptions inform the interpretations of empirical work on consciousness, and how empirical work might illuminate philosophical theorizing.

Are ethical and other normative judgments (like those of aesthetics) objective or in some sense relative? Can such judgments be true or false, or do they express a different type of mental state altogether (like "Ouch!")? Philosophers and cognitive scientists have begun using empirical methods to address these types of questions in metaethics. This course provides an introduction to these questions and surveys the recent experimental work. In the first part of the course, we'll discuss moral realism vs. anti-realism. In the second part, we'll look at the nature of normative disagreement and its role in specific metaethical theories.

This course explores the nature of mental disorder and its meaning for sufferers and society. The first part of the course introduces students to rival accounts of the distinction between pathological and normal functioning, focusing on depression and delusions. The second part turns to anorexia, addiction, and the personality disorders, to consider the impact of mental disorder on individuals and its relevance to personal relationships, clinical treatment, law and society. The course draws on multiple sources, including philosophy, cognitive science, clinical practice, medical ethics, case studies and personal narratives.