PHI 240H - Consciousness and Reality

Twentieth-century European philosophy began, with Edmund Husserl, by exploring human consciousness as the key to understanding the world. The phenomenological school, as it was known, then gave rise to the existentialist movement, as figures such as Heidegger and Sartre took the category of human existence as the fundamental principle of philosophy. Later thinkers such as Merleau-Ponty deepened the analysis of the way consciousness derives from human experience and thus paved the way for movements such as post-modernism. This course will also explore, in addition to those already named, thinkers such as Buber, Arendt, Habermas, Derrida, Foucault, Levinas, and Lyotard. Connections between philosophy and psychology, literature, and the arts will be emphasized. Note: This is the final course in our four-semester History of Philosophy sequence; the others are PHI 120H , PHI 140H , and PHI 220H . However, these courses may be taken in any order, and no background is assumed. Course Typically Offered: Every 2 years in spring.

Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing, one course in Philosophy, or permission of the instructor.

Credits: 4