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)