Consciousness & Embodiment

The MA draws on the research interests of philosophers and cognitive scientists in UCD. It brings together expertise from the phenomenological and analytic traditions in philosophy as well as empirical approaches to the study of the mind/brain to offer a unique taught Masters course on a much discussed and important topic.



Brings together phenomological approaches, philosophy of mind, and cognitive science.



Explores the role of the body and its physical and social surroundings in sharpening our traditional understanding of the key issues of perception, the emotions, and attention.



Through the relationship between consciousness and embodiment, this course brings into focus the intersecting roles of agency, rationality and society in an understanding of the embodied mind.



Until quite recently, the experience of embodiment and the role that the body plays in shaping the mind had been neglected. Descartes’s view of the body as a machine assigned its study to physics and mechanics rather than to philosophy. Outside of the phenomenological circle, and the work of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty in particular, the explosion of interest in philosophy of mind and cognitive science in the 1980s and 90s, focused primarily on consciousness rather than the bodily aspects of cognition. In the last decade a new appreciation of the role of the body and its physical and social surroundings has sharpened our traditional understanding of the key issues of perception, the emotions, and attention. Moreover, the relationship between consciousness and embodiment has brought into focus the intersecting roles of agency, rationality and society in an understanding of the embodied mind.

Stage 1 - Core

Dissertation PHIL40030



Stage 1 - Option

Embodiment and Enactive approaches to Cognitive ScienceCOMP40280

Introduction to Cognitive ScieCOMP47230

Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of PerceptionPHIL40250

The Cultural MindPHIL40960

Consciousness, Agency & the SelfPHIL40970

Guided ReadingPHIL40980

Guided ReadingPHIL40990

Feminist & Gender TheoryPHIL41280

Topics in Continental PhilosPHIL41320

Philosophy of TimePHIL41330

Reading and ResearchPHIL41530

Critique, Destruction & DeconstructionPHIL41810

Invention of the Modern SelfPHIL41840

Readings visual social cognitiPSY40550

An honours bachelor degree (NFQ Level 8) in Philosophy, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience or other cognate subjects with a grade of 2.1 or better is required.



These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes

How to apply?

The following entry routes are available:



MA Consciousness & Embodiment FT (W309)

Duration 1 Years

Attend Full Time

Deadline Rolling*



MA Consciousness & Embodiment PT (W310)

Duration 2 Years

Attend Part Time

Deadline Rolling*



* Courses will remain open until such time as all places have been filled, therefore early application is

W309: 1 year full-time,

W310: 2 years part-time.

MODE OF DELIVERY: Face-to-Face

Next Intake: 2024/2025 September.