Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
| Master in philosophy (120 ECTS) | 5 crédits | |||
| Master in philosophy (60 ECTS) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This course is about consciousness and its relationship with value.
Consciousness. Consciousness is one of the most puzzling and fascinating phenomena in nature. Each conscious creature experiences the world from its own, unique and unshareable, point of view-its subjective perspective. Conscious creatures perceive, think, want, feel, suffer, are moved. These and other states of mind are experiences that are phenomenally conscious: having them implies a peculiar subjective feeling-there is "something it is like" for a conscious creature to have such experiences.
Value. In the world, there seem to be good things and bad things, things that are good for someone or bad for someone else, or things that are experienced as good or bad. Questions around goodness and badness are questions of value. Value plays a crucial role in guiding our actions: we aim to pursue, preserve, and promote what we take to be valuable (for us), and avoid, extinguish, and prevent what we take to be disvaluable (for us).
Here are some of the questions we are going to address:
- What is consciousness and what is so special about being a conscious creature?
- What is the relationship between consciousness and self-consciousness and how does it contribute to our knowledge of consciousness?
- What is the value of consciousness? Do conscious states have value only because of what they allow for (they enable us to navigate and act in the world) or do they also have (some kind of) value for their own sake, independently of what they allow for?
- Can we, conscious beings, get an insight into what is valuable in the world just in virtue of having (some) conscious experiences?
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course, you will (i) have acquired an understanding of the most important philosophical issues about the value of consciousness; (ii) have strengthened your ability to analyze a philosophical text, critically evaluate a philosophical argument, develop your own philosophical ideas, and actively engage in philosophical discussion; (iii) appreciate the significance of the philosophical debate around the value of consciousness, partly by interacting with, and directly learning from, two leading philosophers who have given crucial contributions to it; (iv) have developed a deeper appreciation of the place and importance of consciousness and self-consciousness in human life.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Bachelor in Philosophy.
Understanding of written and spoken English is required.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Each class will be based upon the required reading for the session (see schedule) and will be structured as follows:
- Contextualization in the philosophical debate
- Reconstruction of the author's claims and arguments in the chapter
- Critical discussion.
- Participation during the sessions
- Doing the required reading for every session
- Handing in your work on time
The first part of the course will be around the work of Charles Siewert, who will guest-teach four classes to discuss with students his recent and ongoing work on consciousness, self-consciousness and reflection, affective experience, and the relationship consciousness and value.
The second part of the course will be around the work of Uriah Kriegel, who will guest-teach three or four classes to discuss with students his recent and ongoing work on the value of consciousness, and in particular its epistemic value, its prudential value, its moral value, and its aesthetic value.
There will be a total of eleven classes, organized as per "Schedule and reading" below. The modality is in-person.
The course will be taught partly in English and partly in French. Understanding of written and spoken English is required. However, speaking English is not required: you can ask your questions and express your thoughts in French (both visiting instructors understand French).
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Recommended or required readings
Required:
Kriegel, Uriah. 2019. "The Value of Consciousness." Analysis 79 (3): 503-20.
Kriegel, Uriah. forthcoming. "A Fitting-Attitude Approach to Aesthetic Value?" British Journal of Aesthetics.
Kriegel, Uriah. in preparation. "Phenomenal Grounds of Epistemic Value." In The Value of Consciousness, Chapter 2.
Kriegel, Uriah. in preparation. "Phenomenal Privacy: What It Is and Why We Value It." In The Value of Consciousness.
Kriegel, Uriah. forthcoming. "The Value of Consciousness to the One Who Has It." In The Importance of Being Conscious, edited by Geoffrey Lee and Adam Pautz. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Siewert, Charles. 2021. "Consciousness: Value, Concern, and Respect." Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Mind 1: 3-40.
Siewert, Charles. forthcoming. "Affective Experience." In Subjectivity and Understanding, Chapter 14.
Siewert, Charles. forthcoming. "Experience, Reflection, and Pre-Reflection." In The Phenomenology of Self-Awareness and Conscious Subjects. Routledge.
Siewert, Charles. forthcoming. "In Search of a Basic Conception." In Subjectivity and Understanding, Chapter 4.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Additional information:
- Six reading responses of half a page (25% of the final grade).
- A 1500/2000-word essay to be submitted before November 15th (25% of the final grade);
- A 2000/3000-word essay to be submitted before January 15th (50% of the final grade);
- Participation in class will be tie-breaker.
The reading responses will be on required readings. A reading response consists in explaining and/or commenting on some aspect of the required reading for the week it is submitted. Out of the nine required readings, you will have to submit at least six reading responses. Each reading response counts 20/6 points; so, if you submit all six reading responses, you will get a 20 for that part of the grade.
Attendance is required. Students should actively participate in class discussions, which implies (i) attending each class and (ii) reading each paper/chapter before the class it is assigned for.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
See syllabus.
Contacts
Anna Giustina Dpt of Philosophy 7, Place du 20-août, Building A1/2nd floor B-4000 Liège email: anna.giustina@outlook.com