UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
Phenomenal Qualities Project
The University of Hertfordshire is pleased to announce the commencement of a project to investigate the nature of phenomenal qualities. The Project, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, is initially scheduled to run for three years, and will involve the participation of many leading international scholars working in Philosophy and Cognitive Science. Professor Paul Coates is the Principal Investigator and Dr Sam Coleman is the chief Co-investigator. Professor Anthony Marcel, and Professor Shaun Gallagher, both at the University of Hertfordshire, will also be assisting. The Project will begin in May 2009 with a series of seminars and workshops, which will continue through 2009-2010; further international conferences are planned for the succeeding two years.
As part of the Project, one post-doctoral research fellow, and two doctoral students will be engaged to carry out research relating to the topic of the nature of phenomenal qualities. It is proposed to circulate draft material from the seminars and workshops on the Project website.
Specifically, the Project focuses upon the cognitive role and ontological nature of phenomenal qualities, and in particular upon their relation to the physical world. It will examine both the “objective” and the “subjective” dimensions of phenomenal qualities as they occur in experiences. One branch of the Project concerns the role that phenomenal qualities play in perception: it will investigate whether they are best understood as intrinsic properties of inner experiences, or alternatively, should be construed as the manifest properties of perceived objects. The second branch of the Project concerns the metaphysics of phenomenal qualities and the philosophy of mind: particularly, it will involve an investigation of the prospects for integrating such qualities within a broadly physicalistic worldview (each branch will be broadly construed, and we accept that there will be overlap between the areas of investigation).
We will shortly be advertising formally for a two year post-doctoral research fellow, and for two three-year funded PhD studentships to contribute to the work of the Project. Further information is available at: www.paulcoates.net/projects.php
Those seeking further information at this stage about either the Fellowship post, or about the Studentships, are advised to contact either Paul Coates (P.Coates@herts.ac.uk) or Sam Coleman (S.Coleman@herts.ac.uk).
Professor Paul Coates
Philosophy
School of Humanities
University of Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB
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Marxism & Psychology Research Group (MPRG) |
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