Course Catalogue

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The course will look at theories of perception and perceptual experience that have been developed over the last fifty years, such as sense-datum accounts, doxastic theories, causal theories and disjunctive conceptions, and modern representationalist theories

2 x 1 hour lectures per week for 9 weeks, plus 4 tutorials. The course may not run every year. The options running this session are available on MyCampus.

Standard entry to Masters at College level.

PHIL4031

■ Two essays of 1500-2000 words - 50%.

This course aims to:

■ Introduce students to contemporary analytic philosophy of perception.

■ To familiarize the student with the main argumentative moves prevailing in the Philosophy of Perception.

■ To familiarize the student with the principal doctrines in the Philosophy of Perception, including sense-data theory, representationalism, and naïve realism

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Discuss critically several of the major theories of perception and perceptual experience that have been developed over the last fifty years

■ Explain different accounts of the nature of the mental states that occur during perceptual processes, and of how perception can lead to knowledge or justified belief;

■ Assess whether these theories provide a suitable account of the epistemology of perception;

■ Critically assess theories about the nature of colour;

■ Evaluate hypotheses concerning the nature of and relation between experiences in different sensory modalities.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.