A flat gold-and-black two-ink illustration of a figure mid-dive, concentric ripples spreading from the point of impact with the water

SLOP1163: Experience Subjective Consciousness

A practicum, not a survey: twelve weeks spent closing the gap between describing an experience and having it, one deliberately induced sensation at a time, in pursuit of the hard problem of consciousness.

Skills you'll gain

Who it is for

Anyone willing to treat their own inner life as something worth deliberately, carefully disturbing — no prior philosophy or cognitive science background assumed. What's required instead is a willingness to actually do each week's induction rather than just read about it.

Syllabus

Unit 1 — Immediate Sensationthe body registers something all at once
  1. Week 1: The shock of cold ocean water
  2. Week 2: Uncontrollable laughter
  3. Week 3: Tired satisfaction after hard labor
Unit 2 — The Idling Mindconsciousness with nothing pinning it down
  1. Week 4: Unstructured boredom
  2. Week 5: The drift into sleep
  3. Week 6: The spark of intuition
Unit 3 — Memory & Othersexperience that only exists between people, or across time
  1. Week 7: Nostalgia triggered by a scent
  2. Week 8: Comfortable silence with someone trusted
  3. Week 9: The relief of a resolved worry
Unit 4 — Scale & Releasethe self against something larger than itself
  1. Week 10: Awe under a dark night sky
  2. Week 11: Grief
  3. Week 12: The peace of letting go

Where to go next

Practicum

The weekly practicum: what to induce, notice and write down.

Assessment

What is marked, what it is worth, and when it is due.

People

Who teaches the course and how to reach them.