Christopher Herbert Lay
Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Specialization
Philosophy
of Mind, Phenomenology, Metaphysics
Areas of Competence
Applied
Ethics, Existentialism, Political Philosophy, Nietzsche, English
Composition
Education
University
of California, Irvine (2005-2010)
Degree: PhD in Philosophy, with Critical Theory
Emphasis
Dissertation title: "It's Time to Account for
Consciousness."
Thesis committee: David W. Smith
(chair), Martin Schwab, Charles Siewert.
University
of California, Irvine (2003-2005)
Degree:
M.A. in Philosophy, given upon completion of coursework and a writing
portfolio.
University
of California, Berkeley (2001-2003)
Degree: B.A. (with Departmental Honors, and school's
High Distinction) in Philosophy.
West
Los Angeles Community College (1997-1999)
Pedagogical Education
"On Course" at
the University of Houston-Downtown (2014)
Three-Day Student-Centered
Pedagogical Workshop: "On Course I
Workshop: An In-Depth Immersion in
Empowering Learner-Centered Principles and Strategies"
Acquiring learning-centered
education pedagogy skills, emphasizing student-centered participation,
immersion, and interaction
Learning to implement
innovative curriculum development strategies, emphasizing inclusive sensitivity
across diversities
Workshop Facilitator: Deb Poese,
Director of the School of Education, Montgomery College.
"Quality
Matters" via the University of Houston-Downtown (2013)
Two-Week Online Teaching Workshop:
Quality Matters' "Improving Your Online Course (IYOC) Workshop"
Instruction in eight
standards of the Quality Matters [QM] Rubric
Exploring the QM Rubric and
beyond, acquiring the framework to improve the quality of online courses
Developing, assessing, and
improving online course curriculum/implementing the QM Rubric
Workshop Facilitator: Lisa Clark, Assistant
Dean/Associate Professor, University of Northwestern Ohio.
My dissertation seeks to illuminate the contemporary consciousness debate about the nature of self-consciousness (specifically, how is it that consciousness entails ubiquitous conscious of itself) with a number of insights found in the works of Franz Brentano and Edmund Husserl. Building off of Brentano's notion of incidental awareness, Husserl accounts for self-consciousness by investigating the ways in which consciousness entails an awareness of the passage internal time in the structures of time-consciousness. Taking these historical notions from the margins to the center of the contemporary debate over self-consciousness, I show how the temporal approach to self-consciousness, unlike other approaches, withstands the misrepresentation objection (which holds that approaches that account for self-consciousness in terms of representations alone cannot properly account for cases where one is conscious of being in a state that one is not in fact not in). Likewise, I also show how the temporal approach to consciousness, unlike a competing answer, dissolves the Grand Illusion worry in perception (the worry that due to the anatomy of the human brain, our experience of a richly detailed world is an illusion, the product of the brain, and not the product of our having experienced the world's details themselves).
Presentations
"On the Phenomenology of the
Suppression of Sensations in Normal, Everyday Consciousness" - Presented,
as a Panelist, to the Society for Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy session
on Genetic Phenomenology at the APA Pacific Division, 2013.
"Empathizing
with the Unconscious: A Point of Relevance of Phenomenology for the Cognitive
Sciences." Presented
with Roma Hernandez to Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference - 2011,
Stockholm, Sweden, May 5, 2011. Abstract published, in Towards
a Science of Consciousness 2011 Consciousness Research Abstracts, published
by the Journal of Consciousness Studies.
"Empathy
and the Temporal Background: A Phenomenological Account of the Unconscious"
- Presented, as a Panelist, to the Society
for Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy session on Intersubjectivity at the
APA Pacific Division, April 22, 2011.
"The
Zero-Order Temporal Account of Consciousness Introduced" - Presented to
the Southern California Philosophy Conference, Pomona, California, November 6,
2010.
"Enacting
Time-Consciousness to Account for the Indistinctness and Ambiguity of Details
Experienced in the Periphery of the Visual Field." - Poster Presented at Toward a Science of
Consciousness (Tucson IX) Conference, Tucson, Arizona, April 16, 2010. Abstract
published, in Towards a Science of
Consciousness 2010 Consciousness Research Abstracts, published by the Journal of Consciousness Studies.
"The
Role of Time-Consciousness in the Contemporary Consciousness Debate." - Presented
to the California Phenomenology Circle, Los Angeles, California, November 15,
2008.
"Time-Consciousness
and Normal, Everyday Consciousness." - Presented to Toward a Science of
Consciousness (Tucson VIII) Conference, Tucson, Arizona, April 8, 2008. Abstract published, in Towards
a Science of Consciousness 2008 Consciousness Research Abstracts, published
by the Journal of Consciousness Studies.
"Sleepwalking
Around the Contemporary Consciousness Debate." - Poster Presented, with
Chad Kidd, to the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness
(ASSC11) Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, June 23, 2007.
Papers
The Temporal Background,
Consciousness, and Unconscious Behaviors (in preparation).
Enacting Time-Consciousness to
Account for the Indistinctness and Ambiguity of Details Experienced in the
Periphery of the Visual Field (in preparation).
Fellowships and Awards
Finalist (Runner-Up) for the 2015
Outstanding Adjunct Award, University of Houston-Downtown
Award of
Merit for Excellence in Academics and Outstanding Mentorship awarded by the
California State University, Northridge Philosophy Student Body 2011
UC,
Irvine, School of Humanities, Summer Dissertation Fellowship
UC,
Irvine, School of Humanities, Travel Grant for Conference Presentation
UC,
Irvine, Department of Philosophy, Salzburg Exchange Program Participant
UC
Regents Research Fellowship for study in Salzburg
UC
Regents Fellowship for first year of graduate study
Phi Beta
Kappa (Alpha Chapter)
Dean's
Honor List, UC, Berkeley, College of Letters and Science
Cal
Bears Scholarship
Berkeley
Scholarship
Teaching Experience and
Employment
Assistant Professor,
Pierce College (2015-)
Philosophy
1: Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2016)
Philosophy
2: Society and Values (Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017)
Philosophy
5: Critical Thinking and Composition (Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring
2017)
Philosophy
6: Logic in Practice (Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017)
Philosophy
20: Ethics (Winter 2016, Summer 2016, Winter 2017)
Philosophy
185: Directed Studies / Philosophy of Mind (Fall 2016)
Adjunct Lecturer,
University of Houston-Downtown (2013-2015)
Philosophy
1301: Introduction to Philosophy (Spring 2013, Summer III 2015)
Philosophy
2305: Introduction to Ethics (Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014,
Fall 2014, Spring 2015)
Philosophy
3301: Moral Philosophy I (Summer Session I 2014, Summer Session III
2014, Fall 2014, Summer I 2015)
Philosophy 3305: Contemporary
Philosophy (Spring 2015)
Philosophy 3320: Environmental
Ethics (Fall 2014)
English 1301: Composition I
(Fall 2013, Spring 2014)
English 1302: Composition II (Fall 2013, Spring 2014)
Lecturer,
University of California, Irvine (2012)
Humanities 1b and 1c: Humanities Core Course (Winter 2012,
Spring 2012)
Lecturer,
Pitzer College (2010-2012)
Philosophy
43: Continental Thought (Fall 2010)
Philosophy 999: (Independent Study): Philosophy Through Film (Fall 2010)
Philosophy 122: Continental Philosophy of Self and Other
(Spring 2011)
Philosophy 999: (Independent Study): Phenomenology and Film (Spring 2011)
Philosophy 7: Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 2011)
Philosophy
43: Continental Thought (Spring
2012)
Philosophy 999: (Independent Study): The Re-Evaluation of Self & Other
(Spring 2012)
Philosophy 999: (Independent Study): Phenomenology of Individuation (Spring
2012)
Adjunct Faculty,
California State University, Northridge (2010-2012)
Philosophy
305: Business Ethics (Fall 2010,
Summer 2011, Fall 2011)
Philosophy
349: Contemporary Social &
Political Issues (Spring 2011)
Philosophy
390: Philosophy of Law (Spring
2011)
Philosophy
310: Philosophical Problems (Summer
2011)
Philosophy
439: Phenomenology (Fall 2011)
Philosophy
200: Critical Reasoning (Fall 2011,
Spring 2012)
Philosophy
150: Introduction to Philosophical
Thought (Spring 2012)
Lecturer, Chapman University (2009-2012)
Philosophy
104: Introduction to Ethics (Spring
2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Winter 2012)
Philosophy
203: Logic (Spring 2011, Fall 2011)
Philosophy
101: Introduction to Philosophy
(Spring 2012)
Research Assistant for
Margaret Gilbert, University of California, Irvine (2009-2010)
Lecturer, University of
California, Riverside (2009)
Philosophy
165: Philosophy of Law (Spring
2009)
Teaching
Associate, University of California, Irvine (2007-2009)
(With
responsibilities of crafting course materials and syllabi, lecturing, grading,
and holding weekly office hours)
Humanities 1a, 1b, and 1c: Humanities Core Course (Fall 2007,
Winter 2008, Spring 2008, Fall 2008)
University Studies 4: Honors Transfer Seminar (Summer 2008)
Philosophy 7: Introduction to Existentialism (Winter
2009)
Philosophy 4: Introduction to Ethics (Summer 2009)
Teaching
Assistant, University of California, Irvine (2004-2007)
(With
responsibilities of leading discussion sections, grading, and holding weekly
office hours)
Philosophy 1: Introduction to Philosophy (Winter 2005,
Fall 2005)
Philosophy 4: Introduction to Ethics (Fall 2004,
Spring 2007)
Philosophy 5: Contemporary Moral Problems (Fall 2006)
Philosophy 7: Introduction to Existentialism (Spring
2006)
Philosophy 23: Philosophy of Mind (Winter 2006)
Philosophy 101: Metaphysics (Winter 2007)
Languages
German (reading)
Professional Societies
APA (2010-2011)
Association for the
Scientific Study of Consciousness (2007-2008)
California Phenomenology
Circle (2004-Present)
Other Professional Activities
Referee, Broadview Press
(2012)
Referee, Oxford
University Press (2011)
Referee, Journal of
Philosophical Research (2010)
English Language Proof
Reader
Tommaso Piazza (2007), A
Priori Knowledge: Toward a Phenomenological Explanation, Ontos Verlag.
Hans-Peter Leeb
(2006), "State-of-Affairs Semantics for Positive Free Logic," in
Journal of Philosophical Logic, Volume 35.
Co-Advisor,
Philosophy Society, Pierce College (2015-Present)
Advisor,
Students Against Student Hunger / St.A.S.H., Pierce
College (2016-Present)
AFT
Representative, Professional Ethics Committee, Pierce College (2016-Present)
Graduate Coursework
(All course work has
been completed at UC, Irvine unless otherwise noted.)
Philosophy of Mind and
Phenomenology
Merleau-Ponty, David Woodruff Smith (Fall 2003)
Husserl and Consciousness, David
Woodruff Smith (Fall 2004)
Brentano, Charles Siewert at UC, Riverside (Winter 2005)
Brentano, Johannes Brandl at the University of Salzburg (Spring 2005)
Consciousness, Johannes Brandl at the University of Salzburg (Spring 2005)
Vision and Body, Charlie Chubb and
Carrie Nolan (Fall 2005)
Perception, Michelle Montague
(Spring 2006)
Brentano and Husserl, Charles Siewert (Fall 2007)
Philosophy of Memory, Sven Bernecker (Winter 2007)
Self-Awareness, David Woodruff
Smith (Winter 2007)
Phenomenally Embodied
Consciousness, David Woodruff Smith (Spring 2008)
Consciousness and Indexicals, David Woodruff Smith (Fall 2008)
Metaphysics
Metaphysics, Michelle Montague (Winter 2004)
Locke and Berkeley, Nicholas Jolley (Spring 2004)
Metaphysics of Mind, Michelle
Montague (Spring 2004)
Ontology and Intentionality, David
Woodruff Smith (Spring 2004)
Metaphysics of Perception,
Michelle Montague (Winter 2006)
Mind and Action, David Woodruff
Smith (Winter 2006)
Husserl's Ideas, David Woodruff
Smith (Fall 2006, Winter 2007, and Spring 2007)
Constitution of the Self (Fall
2009)
Moral and Political
Philosophy
Political Philosophy, John Searle
and Hans Sluga at UC Berkeley (Spring 2002)
Moral Luck, Bonnie Kent (Fall
2003)
Practical Reasoning, Aaron James
(Winter 2004)
Hobbes, Nicholas Jolley (Winter 2004)
Nietzsche, Martin Schwab (Fall 2005)
Post- and Neo-Modern Ethics, Martin Schwab (Fall 2006)
Political Theology, Achille Mbembe (Fall 2006)
Existentialism,
Continental Philosophy, and Critical Theory
Critical Theory Workshop, Fred Moten (Fall 2003, Winter
2004, and Spring 2004)
Existentialism, Martin Schwab (Winter 2004)
Levinas, Gayatri Spivak
(Spring 2004)
Philosophy of Deleuze, Martin
Schwab (Fall 2004)
Nietzsche, Martin Schwab (Winter 2005)
Feminism and Psychoanalysis, Gayatri
Spivak (Spring 2006)
Derrida, Gayatri Spivak (Spring 2007)
Logic
Set Theory, Penelope Maddy (Fall
2003)
Activities (at UCI)
Analytic-Continental
Philosophy Reading Group
Frege-Husserl Reading Group
Simone
de Beauvoir Reading Group
Professional Experience,
Extra-Academic
Fifth
Council District, City of Los Angeles
Deputy
for Planning and Economic Development (2001)
Represented
both Council and constituent perspectives at Planning Commission
Hearings,
Zoning Appeals Hearings, and to various boards. Member, Los
Angeles
Neighborhood Initiative.
Field
Deputy (1999-2000)
Conducted
community meetings, addressing constituent concerns, and arranged
City
developments.
Council
Aide (1997- 1998)
Responded
to constituent concerns and managed office affairs.