1 - 6 of 6 results for: SYMSYS

Independent work under the supervision of a faculty member. Can be repeated for credit.

For thousands of years consciousness has been a subject restricted to the considerations of philosophers and religious, however with advances in brain research and the possibility that in the near future we have machines with intelligence similar to that of humans has motivated efforts to build a scientific approach to the research of consciousness. Unlike other scientific research objects, consciousness has a property not present in other areas of study such as physics, chemistry, or biology. This property is subjective experience. This is an element that makes it difficult to use the traditional methods employed in science to learn what consciousness is. The purpose of this course is to introduce to students the evolution of this effort to build a proper approach for scientific research of consciousness through the suggestions/ideas of its main authors. We will present theories that philosophers and scientists have proposed in recent times. We will discuss the reasons why is important understanding what consciousness is, and discuss questions such as: Is it possible for an A.I to become aware? Is our current criterion for declaring a person to be dead correct? Can people in a coma be aware of what is happening around them? Is it possible to understand consciousness without integrating it into the study of physical reality? Prerequisite: A previous course in the philosophy of mind or consent of the instructor.

Independent work under the supervision of a faculty member. Can be repeated for credit.