Zeynep Akbal

We relate to ourselves as thinking subjects and reflect upon objects, and we perceive the body as a subject-object that co-exists with other objects. We can perceive the depth of these objects around us because we can walk around them and stare at them from above and below. Yet, our phenomenal and objective body is inaccessible for us to observe. We can see some parts of our body, for instance looking in a multi-faceted mirror enables us to see ourselves from many different angles. However, visibility of the whole is always behind, after or between the angles of what we attempt to see. Therefore we experience several ambiguities, as we tend to perceive our bodies both visually and sensationally.
In this seminar, we will investigate whether Virtual Reality (VR) systems could assist us to explore and understand these ambiguities. Throughout the course, we will attempt to connect empirical work in VR technology and phenomenological-philosophy of mind. A practical group work will be developed and a VR experiment will be performed at the end of the semester.