Postgraduate Course: Consciousness and Perceptual Awareness (PSYL11071)
Course Outline
School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 10 |
Home subject area | Psychology |
Other subject area | None |
Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
Course description | The sense of being conscious - both of ourselves and of the world around us - is a central aspect of our psychological makeup. It is well established, however, that a great deal of perceptual processing can be accomplished without awareness. This raises several questions that have been the focus of intense research in recent years:
- What distinguishes conscious and non-conscious perceptual processes?
- What factors determine whether a percept will reach awareness or not?
- How does consciousness interact with faculties such as attention and memory?
- What sorts of neural activity determine states of consciousness and the contents of awareness?
In this course we will discuss new findings on the above questions, and the theoretical debates they have triggered regarding the nature of consciousness. We will also delve into the fierce ongoing arguments on methodological issues regarding the best ways to rigorously assess people's subjective experience. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
- Familiarity with a range of phenomena used to investigate consciousness and awareness
- An understanding of the methodological difficulties involved in designing experiments to investigate subjective experience
- An ability to distinguish and interpret studies employing objective and subjective measures of awareness
- Knowledge of current theories of consciousness and its neural correlates |
Assessment Information
One 3000 word essay |
Special Arrangements
None |
Additional Information
Academic description |
Not entered |
Syllabus |
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Transferable skills |
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Reading list |
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Study Abroad |
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Study Pattern |
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Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr David Podhortzer Carmel
Tel: (0131 6)50 3455
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Toni Noble
Tel: (0131 6)51 3188
Email: |
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