Dr. Alexandru Manafu
alexman@yorku.ca
Office hours: Information about office hours will be made available on EClass

An up-to-date survey of various theories of consciousness, including identity theories, higher-order thought theories, representational theories, Dennett’s multiple drafts theory, attention-based theories, panpsychism, etc.

William Seager, Theories of Consciousness: An Introduction and Assessment, Routledge, 2016. Second Edition. (available online through YorkU Library)

Participation: 10%

Critical reflections on the readings (no more than 10), each worth 1%: 10%

Presentation: 15%

Essay outline: 20%

Final essay: 45%

The presentation is mandatory, and it must take place in person, at the time convened upon.

Participation involves sharing personal viewpoints, bringing up questions, answering to questions, making connections, making observations, and in general being active in the seminar.

Before every lecture you will have the opportunity to submit a critical reflection piece (250-500 words) which must focus on that week's readings. In your reflection piece, you may raise an objection to a philosophical idea expressed in the reading; explore some implications of the idea, make connections/comparisons with other ideas, etc, etc, etc. Even though the reflection pieces are short, you are expected to devote a significant amount of time thinking about and writing them. They must engage deeply with the readings. No late critical reflections will be accepted. After you have submitted your critical reflection it is not possible to revise it or to submit another one. Click "submit" only after you have decided you are happy with your work. You can submit a maximum of 10 reflections overall in this course. Good or great submissions = 1%. Mediocre = 0.5%. Superficial = 0%.

Late penalty for essays or essay drafts: 10% of the value of the essay/ each 24 hours.

NOTE: The grading scheme will be respected strictly. I do not typically go back and revise the grades of students, nor do I allow students to do extra work to boost their marks. The main reason for this is my commitment to treat all students equally.

Seminar (in person, attendance required)

 By the end of this course, students will:

• Be able to summarize, analyze, compare and engage critically with the various theories of consciousness;
• Parse and evaluate complex arguments in the metaphysics of consciousness;
• Be able to formulate your own views about the nature of consciousness and defend them with cogent arguments.