All that you directly know about yourself comes to you through your conscious awareness. But, what is consciousness?

This course examines the nature and characteristics of consciousness and conscious experience. The course will begin with some philosophical considerations, then it will examine aspects of consciousness (and the lack of consciousness) from a variety of psychological perspectives, including those of cognitive science, phenomenology, neuropsychology, developmental processes, and evolutionary psychology. For insights into the nature of consciousness and conscious experience, the course will examine research on memory and judgment, sleep and dreams, drug effects, meditation, hypnosis, organic brain damage, child development and animal intelligence.

The course will focus on the scientific analysis of consciousness and on the relations between the subjective experience of consciousness and the theoretical concepts of psychological science. However, it will also consider philosophical implications of the modern study of consciousness.