Duration
30h Th
Number of credits
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
The course focuses on the topic of self-knowledge, understood primarily as knowledge of our mental states (self-knowledge), and secondarily as the capacity to identify oneself as oneself and to distinguish oneself from other entities (self-awareness). Since at least Descartes, it has been argued that self-knowledge is epistemically special, in the sense of being more certain (if not infallible) compared to other kinds of knowledge, and in particular to knowledge of the external world. Is this true? And if so, how can we explain it?
Through the reading and discussion of contemporary texts, the course will examine the following questions:
- What is the epistemic status of self-knowledge?
- What is the method of self-knowledge?
- What is the role and scope of introspection in self-knowledge?
- What are the main contemporary theories of self-knowledge?
- Can the subject constitute an object of apperception?
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
By the end of the course,
(i) you will be familiar with the main theses concerning self-knowledge within the framework of analytic philosophy of mind, and you will have developed your own original ideas on the subject;(ii) you will have strengthened your ability to understand and analyze a contemporary philosophical text and to critically evaluate a philosophical argument;
(iii) you will be encouraged to develop your own philosophical ideas and to actively engage in philosophical discussion.
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.
- Being punctual
- Participation during the sessions
- Doing the required reading for every session
- Submission of one question on the assigned text by midnight on the day before the session.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Blended learning
Further information:
The link to participate online will be available on ecampus
IMPORTANT: If you do not yet have access to eCampus, please do not hesitate to contact me to receive the link as well as the readings for the first session.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
- MyULiège
- Microsoft Teams
Further information:
Text to consult to have a thorough and systematic introduction to the topic:
- Gertler, Brie (2010). Self-Knowledge. New York: Routledge.
Week 1 - September 15: Off campus
Week 2 - September 24: What is self-knowledge?
Required: (Gertler, 2010, ch. 1, sect. 1.1, 1.2; ch. 3, sect. 3.2).
Week 3 - October 1: Cartesianism
Required: Descartes, Second Meditation
Optional: (Farkas, 2008, pp. 17-24); Gertler (2001, 2.3).
Week 4 - October 8: Is introspection reliable?
Required: (Schwitzgebel, 2006)
Optional: (Gertler, 2010, ch. 3, sect. 3.3).
Week 5 - October 15: Varieties of introspective access
Required: (Spener, 2024, ch. 7).
Week 6 - October 22: Theories of the "inner sense"
Required: (Armstrong, 1994)
Optional: (Dretske, 2003).
Week 7 - October 29: Off campus
Week 8 - November 5: Rationalism
Required: (Shoemaker, 1988)
Optional: (Gertler, 2010, pp. 148-157).
Week 9 - November 12: The problem of transparency
TBA
Week 10 - November 19: Is the self an object of observation?
Required: (Chisholm, 1969).
Week 11 - November 24:
TBA
Week 12 - December 3: Class taught by Ethan Field: Acquaintance theories
Week 13 - December 10: Class taught by Ethan Field: Adverbial theories (IMPORTANT: THIS CLASS WILL TAKE PLACE IN ROOM A2/4/17)
Week 14 - December 17: In-class exercise: peer evaluation and Q&A session
References
Armstrong, D. M. (1994). Introspection. In Q. Cassam (Ed.), Self-Knowledge (pp. 109-117). Oxford University Press.
Chisholm, R. M. (1969). On the Observability of the Self. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 30(1), 7-21. https://doi.org/10.2307/2105917
Dretske, F. (2003). How Do You Know You Are Not a Zombie. In B. Gertler (Ed.), Privileged Access: Philosophical Accounts of Self-Knowledge (pp. 1-14). Ashgate.
Farkas, K. (2008). The Subject?s Point of View. Oxford University Press.
Gertler, B. (2010). Self-Knowledge. Routledge.
Schwitzgebel, E. (2006). The Unreliability of Naive Introspection. Philosophical Review, 117(2), 245-273. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-2007-037
Shoemaker, S. (1988). On Knowing One's Own Mind. Philosophical Perspectives, 2, 183-209. https://doi.org/10.2307/2214074
Spener, M. (2024). Introspection: First-Person Access in Science and Agency. Oxford University Press.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam AND oral exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Components of evaluation
The final grade will take into account the following elements:
- Attendance. Class attendance is mandatory.
- Class participation (pass/fail).
- First essay (draft, pass/fail).
- Second essay (final version) + oral exam = 100%.
Students must participate actively in class discussions, which involves
- (i) attending all class sessions;
- (ii) reading each required article/chapter before the session to which it is assigned;
- (iii) sending me at least one question on the mandatory or optional reading before midnight on the day prior to each session (except for the first week), and doing so for at least 6 of the 10 required readings.
You are free to choose the topic that interests you most (as long as it is clearly related to the subject of the course). I am available during office hours to discuss your ideas.
You will be required to submit
(1) a first essay (draft) toward the end of November (the exact date will be decided together). The draft will not be graded, but submission is mandatory in order to pass the course; you will receive comments on it, which you will be expected to incorporate into the final version.
(2) a second essay (final paper; 2000-4000 words), no later than one week before the final exam.
At the final oral exam, you will (i) briefly present your essay and (ii) explain how you have taken my comments into account (or, if applicable, justify the reasons why you chose not to incorporate them). The final evaluation will be based on (i) and (ii), as well as, of course, on the quality of your essay.
To prepare your work, you may consult the guide "Guidelines on How to Write a Philosophy Paper" (Jim Pryor) as well as the evaluation criteria available under the "Course Materials" tab. Finally, a feedback session on your drafts will be organized during our last meeting.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
THIS COURSE WILL NOT BE ORGANIZED IN 2026-2027. First-year students who whish to include this course in their Master program are therefore kindly invited to enroll for this course this academic year.
Course schedule: see syllabus.
Contacts
Valentina Martinis
Dpt of Philosophy
7, Place du 20-août, Building A1/2nd floor
B-4000 Liège
email: vmartinis@uliege.be
Association of one or more MOOCs
There is no MOOC associated with this course.
Items online
Readings
List of course readings
the syllabus may be subject to change.
The readings can be downloaded from eCampus