Doing Nothing: On Sleep and Rest in Philosophy

Amanda Holmes
Institute of Studies in Art and Art Education, Philosophy
2026W, Academic Seminar (SEW), 4.0 ECTS, 2.0 semester hours, course number S51286

Scientific bachelor seminar for teacher education, Psychology

Description

Even though we do it nightly, sleeping is a strange thing to do. That is to say, it is a strange kind of doing in that we do it by doing nothing. Sleep is what we do when we do nothing at all. We lie down. We wait. Sleep comes upon us. We can try to sleep but often the more we try, the more difficult sleep becomes. There is something at odds between the notion of doing, or the idea of agency, and sleep itself. There are good sleepers and bad sleepers, and very few people seem to feel they get enough sleep. Sleeping seems to be at the limits, the limits of control, of consciousness, of life itself. 

These short reflections frame a semester-long study of sleep and how it has been conceived within the history of philosophy.

To paraphrase some key questions about sleep and how it troubles our categories:

Plato: Is sleep an enemy to rationality?

Aristotle: Does the soul sleep? Or is it just the body?

Descartes: How do I know when I am sleeping? What does this uncertainty teach me about the status of knowledge as such?

Nietzsche: What can we learn from the kind of forgetting that makes sleep possible?

Freud: What can we learn about ourselves from what we do when we sleep, that is, from our dreams?

 

We will be reading texts by these thinkers and others.

 

All participants will be expected to give a 10 minute presentation and write a 5-10 page paper at the end of the semester, both based on close readings of primary texts.

 

 

Dates

Thu, 08 October 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 15 October 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 22 October 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 29 October 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 05 November 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 12 November 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 19 November 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 03 December 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 10 December 2026, 13:30–15:30 FLUX 1
Thu, 14 January 2027, 13:30–15:30 Seminar Room 24 , "Raumänderung "
Thu, 21 January 2027, 13:30–15:30 Seminar Room 24 , "Raumänderung "
Thu, 28 January 2027, 13:30–15:30 Seminar Room 24 , "Raumänderung "

Course Enrolment

From 01 September 2026, 09:00 to 30 November 2026, 23:00
Via online registration

Art Education: study subject kkp (Bachelor): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UBA-003.10

Art Education: study subject kkp (Bachelor): Academic Practice: FOR: Course from the Institute IKK.K 034/2026UBA-003.21

Art Education: study subject kkp (Bachelor): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UBA-003.30

Art Education: study subject kkp (Bachelor): Degree Completion (kkp): IT: Bachelor Seminar (Academic or Subject-Didactic), SEw (kkp) 034/2026UBA-010.30

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UEW-003.10

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: FOR: Course from the Institute IKK.K 034/2026UEW-003.21

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 034/2026UEW-003.30

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Degree Completion (kkp): IT: Bachelor Seminar (Academic or Subject-Didactic), SEw (kkp) 034/2026UEW-010.30

Art Education: study subject dex (Bachelor): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UBA-003.10

Art Education: study subject dex (Bachelor): Academic Practice: FOR: Course from the Institute IKK.K 037/2026UBA-003.21

Art Education: study subject dex (Bachelor): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UBA-003.30

Art Education: study subject dex (Bachelor): Degree Completion (dex): IT: Bachelor Seminar (Academic or Subject-Didactic), SEw (dex) 037/2026UBA-010.30

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: GO: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UEW-003.10

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: FOR: Course from the Institute IKK.K 037/2026UEW-003.21

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Academic Practice: FOR: Seminar, SEw 037/2026UEW-003.30

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Degree Completion (dex): IT: Bachelor Seminar (Academic or Subject-Didactic), SEw (dex) 037/2026UEW-010.30

Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/2016UBA-003.80

Art Education: subject kkp (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: IT: Bachelorseminar Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/2016UBA-003.85

Art Education: subject kkp (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 067/2016UMA-003.80

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 067/2018UEW-003.25

Art Education: subject kkp (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 067/2018UEW-003.80

Art Education: study subject kkp (Master): Academic Practice: Elective Courses from Academic Practice, SE 067/2026UMA-003.80

Art Education: subject tex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 071/2016UMA-003.80

Art Education: subject dae (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 072/2016UMA-003.80

Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/2017UBA-003.80

Art Education: subject dex (Bachelor): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: IT: Bachelorseminar Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/2017UBA-003.85

Art Education: subject dex (Master): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: Lehrveranstaltung nach Wahl aus wissenschaftlicher Praxis, SE 074/2017UMA-003.80

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Seminar aus dem Bereich Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften 074/2018UEW-003.25

Art Education: subject dex (Enhancements study): Wissenschaftliche Praxis: FOR: Lehrveranstaltungen nach Wahl aus Wissenschaftliche Praxis 074/2018UEW-003.80

Art Education: study subject dex (Master): Academic Practice: Elective Courses from Academic Practice, SE 074/2026UMA-003.80

TransArts - Transdisciplinary Arts (Bachelor): Theoretical foundations: Theoretical foundations 180/2025UBA-003.01

Expanded Museum Studies (Master): Electives: Philosophy 537/2021UMA-080.18

Stage Design (2. Section): Kunsttheorie und Kulturwissenschaften: Philosophie 542/2022U00-207.04

Media Arts: Specialisation in Transmedia Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie und Geschichte : Philosophie 566/2019U00-208.08

Media Arts: Specialisation in Digital Arts (2. Section): Wissenschaft, Theorie, Geschichte: Philosophie 567/2019U00-208.08

Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 1: Philosophy 568/2021UMA-005.07

Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften (Master): Electives Area 2: Philosophy 568/2021UMA-006.07

Cross-Disciplinary Strategies (Master): Study Areas 4-6: Study Area 4: Philosophy 569/2026UMA-022.04

Design: Specialisation in Design and Narrative Media (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Fundamentals: Humanities 576/2024U00-203.02

Design: Specialisation in Communication Design (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Humanities 577/2025U00-203.02

Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Art Theory, Cultural Studies, Art History, Philosophy 605/2019U00-202.01

Fine Arts (2. Section): Scientific and Research Practice: Free Electives out of Scientific and Research Practice 605/2019U00-202.80

Design: Specialisation in Applied Photography and Time-based Media (2. Section): Methodological and Theoretical Basics: Humanities 626/2021U00-203.02

Cross-Disciplinary Strategies (Bachelor): Philosophy: Deepening / Application 700/2026UBA-003.20

Art & Science (Master): Methods and Practices of Transdisciplinary Research: Practice and Theory 776/2026UMA-002.16

Co-registration: possible

Attending individual courses: possible