PSY 4930
Special Topic in Psychology
Proposed Syllabus
Scientific Inquiry into
Contemporary Consciousness Studies
Professor: Dr. Barbara Welsch, Clinical Psychology
TEXTBOOKS
REQUIRED
Consciousness: An
Introduction
XXX pages
By Susan Blackmore, PhD
Note: key chapters will be discussed.
Cost: US$ 39.95
Projectiology: A Panorama of Experiences the
Consciousness outside the Human Body
XXX pages
Waldo
Vieira, MD
Note: key chapters of the book will be bound and provided to the students as part of the core study material of this course. Authorization for reproduction of the book obtained from the publisher.
Cost: US$ 28.70
Recommended additional
reading:
A list of recommended books (annex XX) will be provided to the students. One of those books (of the student’s choice) will be used for review to support the learning process and the accomplishment of assignments.
SCHEDULE &
ROOM NEEDS
Weekly 3-hour block
Room that accommodates at least 30 students
GRADING SYSTEM
Attendance & Participation 10%
Assignments* 30%
Exam Component** 30%
Final Essay*** 30%
* Homework assignments composed of open
questions exploring a particular sub-topic of consciousness studies and book
reviews
** Exam with multiple-choice and open questions about the whole
content of the course
*** 2,000-word essay composed of a comprehensive literature review of research reports in this field
OFFICE HOURS
Instructor: Dr. Barbara Welsch (Clinical Psychology)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course provides a comprehensive view of modern conception and methodological discussions on consciousness studies. To fulfill this goal, examination of research studies, existing theories and current debates on this topic will be covered. In addition, the hypothesis that experiences of paranormal or transcendental kind could be contributive to the exploration of consciousness will be evaluated. The course will also address the implications of the advances towards a new science of consciousness into other disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, medicine, biology, sociology, computer science, physics, and spirituality.
Philosophical questions and ramifications of the subject will be considered, including: what is the consciousness?; what is self?; how do subjective experiences arise?; what are the connections between neuroscience and altered states of consciousness and anomalous experiences (e.g. Near-Death Experience)?
“The ‘last great mystery of science,’
consciousness is a topic that was banned from serious research for most of the
last century, but is now an area of increasing popular and scientific interest”
(Blackmore).
“XXXXXXXXXXXX” (Vieira)
Topics covered by this course:
- Epistemological issues into a science of consciousness: variety of current paradigms and frameworks
- Review of current and historical research into consciousness
- Review of existing methodologies employed to explore consciousness
- Emerging research and experiments to explore consciousness
- Evaluation of design and findings existing research into main hypotheses and theories of consciousness studies
- Validity of employing research into anomalous/paranormal experiences as a tool for consciousness study
- Findings of survey and experimental research into anomalous experiences and the insight those findings deliver to understanding consciousness
- Review and comments on the main authors and publications exploring consciousness studies
- Debate ‘Consciousness: a material feature of the individual or a transcendental attribute of the self?’
- Mind vs. Consciousness vs. Self-awareness
- Emotion, thoughts, awareness and consciousness
- Plethora of potential multidisciplinary implications of an ‘updated’ science of consciousness, considering personal, scientific, social levels
Goals of the course:
- To stimulate constructive debate
- To challenge students to simultaneously employ a high degree of intellectual neophilia (open-mindedness) and scientific rigor (critique and logic).
- To encourage consultation of existing literature and expertise on contemporary schools of thought and investigation
- To facilitate original contributions from students to an infant scientific field, that may develop into a senior or graduate thesis or a journal publication.
- To exercise scholarly thought, writing, and research (research methodologies, bibliography, abstract, interviews, and academic writing)
- To lead students to refine and deepen their experience of the scientific spirit, inquiry, method, critique, and responsible scientific speculation.
- To stimulate discussion on how scientific demarcation criteria applies to and affects consciousness studies
REQUISITES:
There are no pre- or co-requisites for this course.
CREDITS:
General
Education:
Social & Behavioral Sciences: 3; Humanities: 3
Gordon Rule: 6000 words
SCHEDULE
|
Week |
Lecture & Discussion Theme |
Testing & Assignments Due |
|
1 |
The
course; the enigma of consciousness; related problems; history |
|
|
2* |
Knowledge;
Scientific Method; Ontological and Epistemological issues |
|
|
3 |
Neural
Correlates of Consciousness |
|
|
4 |
Altered
States of Consciousness and Varieties of Anomalous Experiences |
1st Assignment |
|
5 |
Neurobiology
of Transcendental Experiences |
|
|
6* |
Survey of
Anomalous Processes; |
|
|
7 |
Death
& Dying; Hypotheses of Survival & Existential Seriation
of Consciousness |
Book Review or Paper Review |
|
8* |
Near-Death
Experience and scientific studies on this topic |
|
|
9* |
Surveys
of scientific studies on |
|
|
10* |
Out-of-Body
Experience and experimental research conducted on this phenomenon. Discussion
on the validity of the experiments and its findings to enlighten about the
nature of consciousness |
|
|
11 |
Interdisciplinary
Implications of Consciousness Studies |
Quiz/Exam |
|
12 |
Personal wellbeing
and ethical issues. |
|
|
13 |
Philosophical
discussions on the role and interaction of mind, self-awareness and
consciousness |
|
|
14 |
Final
Presentations / Revision and discussion of the draft version of students
final Literature Review |
|
|
15 |
Finals
Week |
Literature Review |
|
|
|
|
|
NOTE |
* - guest
lecturer |
|
Annex 1
Textbook Contents
Consciousness: An Introduction
by Susan Blackmore
Brief Description:
XX pages with general discussions on the nature of consciousness, its origins, and functions. Blackmore is a researcher into consciousness for the past XXX years and is affiliated with XXX.
Sections and chapters
will be selected from those below:
Projectiology: A Panorama of Experiences the
Consciousness outside the Human Body
by Waldo Vieira
Brief description:
Projectiology is an authoritative, technical and scholarly volume. It provides valuable discussion into a new methodology for consciousness research and delivers definitive information founded on scientific research about altered states of consciousness, paranormal phenomena and anomalous experiences.
Sections and chapters
to be studied in this course:
Section I: Scientific
Foundations of the Science of Consciousness (Conscientiology)
Chapter 1 – Essential concepts of science
Chapter 2 – A new paradigm for consciousness (consciential paradigm)
Chapter 7 – Sciences
Chapter 8 – History of the study of manifestation beyond the physical body (Projectiology)
Chapter 9 - Periods of Projectiology
Chapter 14 – Laboratorial Period of Projectiology
Chapter 16 – Chronology of Projectiology
Section II:
Relationship between Projectiology and other sciences
Chapter
17. Projectiology and Interdisciplinarity
Chapter 18. Projectiology
and Other Sciences
Chapter 19. Projectiology
and Parapsychology
Chapter 20. Projectiology
and Psychology
Chapter 22. Projectiology
and Medicine
Chapter 23. Projectiology
and Anthropology
Chapter 24. Projectiology
and Sociology
Chapter 28. Division of Projectiology
Chapter 29. Lucid Projection and
the Human Consciousness
Chapter 30. Human Lucid Projection
Section III:
Phenomena of Projectiology
Chapter 37. Classification of
Projective Phenomena
Chapter 38. Subjective Projective Phenomena
Chapter
44. Projective Catalepsy
Chapter 46. Cosmoconsciousness
Chapter 48. Near-Death Experience
(NDE)
Chapter 56. Ambifaceted
Projective Phenomena
Chapter 60. Traveling Clairvoyance
Chapter 64. Semimaterialization
Chapter 65. State of
Section IV: Altered
States of Consciousness
Chapter 85. Xenophrenia
Chapter 86. Classification of Xenophrenic States
Chapter 93. Lucid Projection and
Dreams
Chapter 95. Comparisons between
Dreams and Lucid Projections
Chapter 101. Comparisons between
Hallucination and Lucid Projection
Section V: Vehicles of
Manifestation of The Consciousness
Chapter 102. Ego
Chapter 103. Types of Holosomatic Vehicles
Section VI – Philosophical
Perspectives
Chapter 157. Projectiology
and Philosophy
Chapter 159. Theory of the
Leading-Edge Relative Truths of Projectiology
Chapter 160. Theory of the
Leading-Edge Relative Truths of Extraphysical Conscientiology
Chapter 161. Cosmoethics
Chapter 162. Extraphysical
Code of Ethics
Chapter 163. Lucid Projection and
Materialism
VII – Pre-Projection
Physical Waking State
Chapter 175. Chronological Analysis
of Lucid Projection
Chapter 176. Stages of Lucid
Projection
IX – Exteriorization
of the Consciousness Stage
Chapter 245. Hypnagogy
Chapter 246. Transitional State
X – Extraphysical Period of the Consciousness
Chapter 262. Extraphysical
Self-Awareness
Chapter 263. Scale of Lucidity of
the Projected Consciousness
XIII – Post-Projection
Physical Waking State
Chapter 385. The Physical Mind
Chapter 406. Confirmations after
Lucid Consciential Projections
XIV – The Projector
and Projections
Chapter 409. Types of Projectors
Chapter 415. Animism
Chapter 416. Parapsychism
Chapter 421. Basic Categories of
Lucid Projection
XVI – Scientific
Perspectives
Chapter 495. Laboratory Experiments
with Lucid Projection
Chapter 497. Brain Wave Patterns
Chapter 504. Individual Experiments
with Lucid Projection
Chapter 506. Cases of Lucid
Projection
Chapter 508. Experimental Projects
Chapter 509. General Hypotheses in Projectiology
Chapter 510. Hypothesis of the
Imaginary Body
Chapter 511. Hypothesis of the
Objective Body
Chapter 512. Lucid Projection and
the Unconscious
Chapter 513. Psychological Theory
Chapter 514. Information Theory
Chapter 515. Theory of Rehearsal of
Biological Death
Chapter 516. Working Hypotheses
From
the publisher:
This work is one of the
bibliographical references to the "Dicionário Houaiss da Lingua Portuguesa."
In this 1st English edition (4th in Portuguese) its specialized bibliography
reaches up to 1,907 works. This book has 1,232 pages that bring
to life innovative subjects in its 525 chapters. Subjects include:
·
the scientific foundations of conscientiology
·
the phenomena, applications and benefits associated with
projections
·
altered states of consciousness
·
cosmoethics and
universalism
·
a variety of 40 paranormal phenomena
·
the vehicles of manifestation of the consciousness
·
types of conscious projections
·
the stages of the projective experience
·
techniques to provoke lucid projections
·
the departure of the consciousness form the physical body
the extraphysical
period
·
relationships of the projected consciousness
·
characteristics of non-physical beings
·
return of the consciousness to the physical body
·
the post-projective waking state
·
types of projections
·
experiences outside of the body
·
the conscious use of bio-energies (personal vital energy)