HPhil Seminar: June 9, 2022

The HPhil (History of Philosophy) Research Group of the Centre of Philosophy of the University of Lisbon announces the 2021/22 edition of its permanent seminar on the history of philosophy, devoted to the reading and discussion of seminal philosophical works, as well as to the presentation of conferences by renowned specialists, aiming to promote the permanent training of the academic community.

In this session, Jari Kaukua (University of Jyväskylä) will give a lecture on entitled “Self-awareness as a piece of psychological evidence in Avicenna” (abstract bellow).

The session will take place on June 9, 2022, at 5PM, in the Room C201.J (Room Mattos Romão, Department of Philosophy). The entrance is free.

Abstract

Self-awareness as a piece of psychological evidence in Avicenna

In the psychological part of his Shifāʾ, Avicenna relies on the phenomenon of self-awareness in two closely related arguments for the human soul’s incorporeality: the well-known but controversial thought experiment of the flying or the floating man, and a less discussed, but no less interesting argument from the unity of the subject of complex experience. In this talk, I will argue that Avicenna was aware of the difficulties of applying first-personal phenomenological evidence in psychology. This involves the consideration of questions concerning the form and status of Avicenna’s arguments, as well as of the validity of identifying first-personal evidence with psychological data.