The purpose of this paper is to review some of the current research regarding consciousness from both a philosophical and a cognitive science perspective looking at questions such as what is consciousness? If asked, could you point at it? Is consciousness biochemical? Does philosophy still have anything to offer to the field? We have drugs that alter cognitive processes but are these processes together what constitutes consciousness? Is introspection a by-product of these processes or is it the root of consciousness? Is it possible that we are extremely complexed behavior machines highly trained to react to our environments and one another? If consciousness exists, can it be replicated like intelligence and learning? First, the word …show more content…
The issue is that humans have subjective experiences. This means that there is something it is like to be that person and only that person alone with that experience. We can’t explain how or why this occurs. As a tribal animal it would make more sense for there to be less (or no) discrepancy between our individual shared experiences. We can say that a being is conscious in this sense when there is something it is like to be that being and not another due to an experience. A mental state is conscious when there is something it is like to be in that state for that individual. We take this for granted but this is a powerful and unique ability. “Conscious states include states of perceptual experience, bodily sensation, mental imagery, emotional experience, occurrent thought, and more.” There is something it is like to hear a violin, to feel hate, to visualize the Grand Canyon, to feel shame, and to think that one is lost. These states have a phenomenal character, with phenomenal properties describing what it is like to be in the state. These qualia are not shared between individuals in equity. Also, let us not forget our singular ability to be introspective of these phenomenal properties. (Chalmers …show more content…
The brain has been influenced by hundreds of thousands of years of evolution influencing perception and when considering the mind, giving us the ability of introspection among many other things. Why would we need the ability to be introspective if all we needed to do was to survive, to react to our environment like our non-hominid ancestors still do. What was the (recent) selective pressure that forced the mind to become a human quality? If consciousness is a human attribute then when did it evolve? Why? If the mind really is a by-product than destroying it in some way shouldn’t have any real consequence. That’s a strike against Huxley because this is obviously not the case. It would be absurd to think we could destroy the mind while leaving everything else in tacked. And if we could would we still be human? There are very real ways of stopping our mind (perception, volitions, emotions, personality, etc.) from functioning but not without altering the physical
However, advancements in the field made it possible to better understand that not only was psychology more complex than concepts of consciousness, but also that there were many other mental aspects at play. Consciousness has since been redefined to express the idea of awareness – both of personal being and the environment that exists around it. It is through cognitive neuroscience, which is the study of the brain in relation to its mental processes, that scientists can better understand the level of consciousness. Knowing how the body reacts at various levels, what human control exists in each and how they contribute to the activities of the brain can likely explain a lot about human behavior. Within cognitive neuroscience, the latest research is able to the show the ways in which brain activity centered on imagined thoughts, personal ideals and concepts and the inner working of this organ direct behavior among individuals of varying backgrounds and physical
The subjectiveness of one’s conscious experience is what makes it special and unique to that one organism, which is why ant
Today experiences and knowledge are highly influenced societies reaction to different multiple consciousness issues. In the present
To be conscious basically means to be alive and aware of our surroundings. However in terms of Socrates’ philosophy it has a deeper meaning, as Socrates describes consciousness to be our psyche or our soul (Navia
Conscious evolution is the ability to be able to change how we as humans will move forward in the future and to decide what that change will be. This ability has come about through the advancements that we have made in science, technology, medicine, and many other fields. Conscious evolution is not only about awareness though, it is about collaboration between all human beings so that we may all move forward as collective, rather than dividing and moving toward a destructive future. This type of evolution can be contrasted to the conventional form of evolution because of the rate at which it occurs. Evolution has typically been a very slow process for humans.
When looking at the debate between Naturalism versus Christian View, focus is on how did we get where we are today with complex thoughts and behaviors. Naturalists look at this question from the aspects of everything just coming into being through natural occurrences. For a Naturalist, they like to look for scientific evidence to back up their idea that the universe came together through evolutionary principles over time. One question that Naturalists have a difficult time answering deals with the conscious. What is a conscious and why do we have it?
Conclusion: The mind is substantively different from the body and indeed matter in general. Because in this conception the mind is substantively distinct from the body it becomes plausible for us to doubt the intuitive connection between mind and body. Indeed there are many aspects of the external world that do not appear to have minds and yet appear none the less real in spite of this for example mountains, sticks or lamps, given this we can begin to rationalize that perhaps minds can exist without bodies, and we only lack the capacity to perceive them.
a theory that concerns relation of conscious and unconscious. 4. Unconscious- unacceptable thoughts info process which individuals are not aware of. 5.
What is the Mind? Introduction To try and explore the ‘mind’ it is necessary to examine if the mind and the brain are separate or if the mind and body are distinct from one another? Is the mind and body separate substance or elements of the same substance? Is consciousness the result of the mechanisms of the brain, wholly separate from the brain or inextricably linked?
Within the unconscious mind exists three different apparatuses: Id, Ego, and
Thus, the Other and oneself “must learn to find the communication of consciousnesses in a single world [..] gathered together in a single world in which we all participate as anonymous subjects of perception” (Merleau-Ponty, 2013, pp 369). Meaning that one 's experience of the Other s intrinsically related to the Individual 's own experience and existence. Moreover, for Merleau-Ponty, there are three main characteristics which demonstrate the relation between the Individual and the
1. Consciousness has several different meanings. Provide two definitions and give an example of each. (4 pts) Although there are several meanings listed for the word “consciousness” the two definitions that I chose from www.dictionary.com were: • Awareness of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.
It is known that in ones day to day routine, the moment an individual opens their eyes, he or she is promptly aware of a medley of percepts and urges. Such percepts and urges are experienced involuntarily, effortlessly, and regardless of one's desires. These conscious content are subjectively portrayed to "just happen" and occur without one's intention. Relatedly, high-level cognitions beyond those of basic percepts and urges have also been found to enter consciousness in such an insuppressible manner. Consider the case of when entering one's closet; the vast majority of conscious contents composing the stream of consciousness are generated in response to external stimuli.
The three basic powers of consciousness, as we see, are: power (will), love and thought. We all have these forms of energy in different proportions. When they are manifested in a human being, these forms of energy are also altered by the orientation of our personal consciousness (inwards or outwards). People with inward-oriented consciousness are introverted: they tend to be concerned with what happens
To be conscious is to be aware of everything around you. For instance, sitting in school, you begin to notice certain aspects of your surroundings. Your table mate reminds you that our Lit Circle paper is due today, someone slammed a door down the hallway, and so on. But being conscious isn’t just noticing your surroundings. Being conscious also means you form thoughts and create responses to your environment.