Philosophy : Consciousness human and animal

What do we mean by consciousness ? having concepts ? being aware of time and space ? anticipating and planning for the future ? making judgements about the right course of action ? self-awareness ? Philosophers have been trying to understand consciousness for a very long time. It has often been assumed or argued in Philosophy that only humans are conscious or self-aware – an approach which has recently been increasingly questioned. Some philosophers argue that it is very likely that other species are also capable of conscious thought because humans evolved from other species, so there is bound to be continuity. Others argue that there is something unique about human self-awareness which other species are not capable of. Course content : people's (and philosophers') intuitions about animal consciousness; definitions of consciousness and criteria for what should count as conscious; the philosophical problem of other minds; the internal perspective - or what it's like to be a bat; a history of philosophical thinking about human and animal consciousness.