PHIL 310 - Seminar in Analytic Philosophy

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2024/25b: Philosophy and Science of Affectivity. Some experiences feel pleasant while others feel unpleasant, and these pleasant/unpleasant feels are some of the primary reasons that desires, pains, moods, and emotions so often play a central role in experience. Moreover, these pleasant/unpleasant feels matter a great deal for the way people treat both one another and other animals. But how should we seek to explain these pleasant/unpleasant feels? What, for instance, might we make of these feels in light of placebo effects? Do all experiences have these pleasant/unpleasant aspects, or only particular states? How might these feels influence what a person pays attention to, their motivation, or even how they think? Can the pleasant/unpleasant aspect of an experience be shaped by social factors? How might the ability to have these pleasant/unpleasant states benefit a mind?

Throughout the course we read work across philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience. The particular topics vary with input from students. Kate Pendoley.

Prerequisite(s): One prior course in Philosophy at the 200 level.

One 3-hour period.

Course Format: CLS