The Concepts Of Consciousness

Author : Elizabeth Irvine
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 187 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2012-10-13
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789400751736

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Consciousness as a Scientific Concept by Elizabeth Irvine Pdf

The source of endless speculation and public curiosity, our scientific quest for the origins of human consciousness has expanded along with the technical capabilities of science itself and remains one of the key topics able to fire public as much as academic interest. Yet many problematic issues, identified in this important new book, remain unresolved. Focusing on a series of methodological difficulties swirling around consciousness research, the contributors to this volume suggest that ‘consciousness’ is, in fact, not a wholly viable scientific concept. Supporting this ‘eliminativist‘ stance are assessments of the current theories and methods of consciousness science in their own terms, as well as applications of good scientific practice criteria from the philosophy of science. For example, the work identifies the central problem of the misuse of qualitative difference and dissociation paradigms, often deployed to identify measures of consciousness. It also examines the difficulties that attend the wide range of experimental protocols used to operationalise consciousness—and the implications this has on the findings of integrative approaches across behavioural and neurophysiological research. The work also explores the significant mismatch between the common intuitions about the content of consciousness, that motivate much of the current science, and the actual properties of the neural processes underlying sensory and cognitive phenomena. Even as it makes the negative eliminativist case, the strong empirical grounding in this volume also allows positive characterisations to be made about the products of the current science of consciousness, facilitating a re-identification of target phenomena and valid research questions for the mind sciences.​

Author : David Gamez
Publisher : Open Book Publishers
Page : 234 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2018-03-07
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781783743018

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Human and Machine Consciousness by David Gamez Pdf

Consciousness is widely perceived as one of the most fundamental, interesting and difficult problems of our time. However, we still know next to nothing about the relationship between consciousness and the brain and we can only speculate about the consciousness of animals and machines. Human and Machine Consciousness presents a new foundation for the scientific study of consciousness. It sets out a bold interpretation of consciousness that neutralizes the philosophical problems and explains how we can make scientific predictions about the consciousness of animals, brain-damaged patients and machines. Gamez interprets the scientific study of consciousness as a search for mathematical theories that map between measurements of consciousness and measurements of the physical world. We can use artificial intelligence to discover these theories and they could make accurate predictions about the consciousness of humans, animals and artificial systems. Human and Machine Consciousness also provides original insights into unusual conscious experiences, such as hallucinations, religious experiences and out-of-body states, and demonstrates how ‘designer’ states of consciousness could be created in the future. Gamez explains difficult concepts in a clear way that closely engages with scientific research. His punchy, concise prose is packed with vivid examples, making it suitable for the educated general reader as well as philosophers and scientists. Problems are brought to life in colourful illustrations and a helpful summary is given at the end of each chapter. The endnotes provide detailed discussions of individual points and full references to the scientific and philosophical literature.

Author : Edwin B. Holt
Publisher : Cosimo, Inc.
Page : 365 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2005-11-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781596053502

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The Concept of Consciousness by Edwin B. Holt Pdf

The present volume does not aim to be a system. It does profess not to forget the initial quest of philosophy.Its scope is limited, for it proposed only to give a consistent account, a definition, of one very common yet perplexing feature of the universe - consciousness" -from The Preface By 1914, when he completed The Concept of Consciousness, Holt believed that objects are as initially perceived, that one could relate conscious experience to physical references and that environment is the determining force in life. Contents of this volume include: .The Renaissance of Logic .Objections to the Programme of Logic .Correspondence: The Particular and The Universal .Further Implications of the Programme of Logic .Our Universe at Large .The Substance of Ideas .The Substance of Matter .The Neutral Mosaic .The Concept of Consciousness EDWIN B. HOLT, (1873-1946) born in Winchester, Massachusetts, was an undergraduate at Amherst College, but transferred to Harvard, receiving his A.B. in 1896. Thereafter, he studied with William James, receiving a doctorate in psychology in 1901. Holt taught at Harvard until 1918, and later served for nearly a decade as a Visiting Professor of Psychology at Princeton, where he was widely acclaimed for his brilliant lectures.

Author : Daniel C. Dennett
Publisher : Little, Brown
Page : 528 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2017-02-07
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780316439480

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Consciousness Explained by Daniel C. Dennett Pdf

"Brilliant...as audacious as its title....Mr. Dennett's exposition is nothing short of brilliant." --George Johnson, New York Times Book Review Consciousness Explained is a a full-scale exploration of human consciousness. In this landmark book, Daniel Dennett refutes the traditional, commonsense theory of consciousness and presents a new model, based on a wealth of information from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence. Our current theories about conscious life-of people, animal, even robots--are transformed by the new perspectives found in this book.

Author : Rocco J. Gennaro
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 389 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780262016605

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The Consciousness Paradox by Rocco J. Gennaro Pdf

A defense of a version of the higher-order thought (HOT) theory of consciousness with special attention to such topics as concepts and animal consciousness. Consciousness is arguably the most important area within contemporary philosophy of mind and perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the world. Despite an explosion of research from philosophers, psychologists, and scientists, attempts to explain consciousness in neurophysiological, or even cognitive, terms are often met with great resistance. In The Consciousness Paradox, Rocco Gennaro aims to solve an underlying paradox, namely, how it is possible to hold a number of seemingly inconsistent views, including higher-order thought (HOT) theory, conceptualism, infant and animal consciousness, concept acquisition, and what he calls the HOT-brain thesis. He defends and further develops a metapsychological reductive representational theory of consciousness and applies it to several importantly related problems. Gennaro proposes a version of the HOT theory of consciousness that he calls the "wide intrinsicality view" and shows why it is superior to various alternatives, such as self-representationalism and first-order representationalism. HOT theory says that what makes a mental state conscious is that a suitable higher-order thought is directed at that mental state. Thus Gennaro argues for an overall philosophical theory of consciousness while applying it to other significant issues not usually addressed in the philosophical literature on consciousness. Most cognitive science and empirical works on such topics as concepts and animal consciousness do not address central philosophical theories of consciousness. Gennaro's integration of empirical and philosophical concerns will make his argument of interest to both philosophers and nonphilosophers.

Author : Josh Weisberg
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2014-11-07
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780745686639

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Consciousness by Josh Weisberg Pdf

Each of us, right now, is having a unique conscious experience. Nothing is more basic to our lives as thinking beings and nothing, it seems, is better known to us. But the ever-expanding reach of natural science suggests that everything in our world is ultimately physical. The challenge of fitting consciousness into our modern scientific worldview, of taking the subjective “feel” of conscious experience and showing that it is just neural activity in the brain, is among the most intriguing explanatory problems of our times. In this book, Josh Weisberg presents the range of contemporary responses to the philosophical problem of consciousness. The basic philosophical tools of the trade are introduced, including thought experiments featuring Mary the color-deprived super scientist and fearsome philosophical “zombies”. The book then systematically considers the space of philosophical theories of consciousness. Dualist and other “non-reductive” accounts of consciousness hold that we must expand our basic physical ontology to include the intrinsic features of consciousness. Functionalist and identity theories, by contrast, hold that with the right philosophical stage-setting, we can fit consciousness into the standard scientific picture. And “mysterians” hold that any solution to the problem is beyond such small-minded creatures as us. Throughout the book, the complexity of current debates on consciousness is handled in a clear and concise way, providing the reader with a fine introductory guide to the rich philosophical terrain. The work makes an excellent entry point to one of the most exciting areas of study in philosophy and science today.

Author : Helmut Wautischer
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 669 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2008-04-11
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780262232593

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Ontology of Consciousness by Helmut Wautischer Pdf

Scholars from many different disciplines examine consciousness through the lens of intellectual approaches and cultures ranging from cosmology research and cell biophysics laboratories to pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and Tibetan Tantric Buddhism in a volume that extends consciousness studies beyond the limits of current neuroscience research. The "hard problem" of today's consciousness studies is subjective experience: understanding why some brain processing is accompanied by an experienced inner life. Recent scientific advances offer insights for understanding the physiological and chemical phenomenology of consciousness. But by leaving aside the internal experiential nature of consciousness in favor of mapping neural activity, such science leaves many questions unanswered. In Ontology of Consciousness, scholars from a range of disciplines—from neurophysiology to parapsychology, from mathematics to anthropology and indigenous non-Western modes of thought—go beyond these limits of current neuroscience research to explore insights offered by other intellectual approaches to consciousness. These scholars focus their attention on such philosophical approaches to consciousness as Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, North American Indian insights, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilization, and the Byzantine Empire. Some draw on artifacts and ethnographic data to make their point. Others translate cultural concepts of consciousness into modern scientific language using models and mathematical mappings. Many consider individual experiences of sentience and existence, as seen in African communalism, Hindi psychology, Zen Buddhism, Indian vibhuti phenomena, existentialism, philosophical realism, and modern psychiatry. Some reveal current views and conundrums in neurobiology to comprehend sentient intellection. Contributors Karim Akerma, Matthijs Cornelissen, Antoine Courban, Mario Crocco, Christian de Quincey, Thomas B. Fowler, Erlendur Haraldsson, David. J. Hufford, Pavel B. Ivanov, Heinz Kimmerle, Stanley Krippner, Armand J. Labbé, James Maffie, Hubert Markl, Graham Parkes, Michael Polemis, E Richard Sorenson, Mircea Steriade, Thomas Szasz, Mariela Szirko, Robert A.F. Thurman, Edith L.B. Turner, Julia Watkin, Helmut Wautischer

Author : Edwin Bissell Holt
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 1914
Category : Consciousness
ISBN : 0598428771

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The Concept of Consciousness by Edwin Bissell Holt Pdf

Author : Paulo J. Negro
Publisher : Bentham Science Publishers
Page : 251 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2019-02-11
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781681087672

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A Blueprint for the Hard Problem of Consciousness by Paulo J. Negro Pdf

A Blueprint for the Hard Problem of Consciousness addresses the fundamental mechanism that allows physical events to transcend into subjective experiences, termed the Hard Problem of Consciousness. Consciousness is made available as the abstract product of self-referent realization of information by strange loops through the levels of processing of the brain. Readers are introduced to the concept of the Hard Problem of Consciousness and related concepts followed by a critical discourse of different theories of consciousness. Next, the author identifies the fundamental flaw of the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and proposes an alternative that avoids the cryptic intelligent design and panpsychism of the IIT. This author also demonstrates how something can be created out of nothing without resorting to quantum theory, while pointing out neurobiological alternatives to the bottom-up approach of quantum theories of consciousness. The book then delves into the philosophy of qualia in different physiological knowledge networks (spatial, temporal and olfactory, cortical signals, for example) to explain an action-based model consistent with the generational principles of Predictive Coding, which maps prediction and predictive-error signals for perceptual representations supporting integrated goal-directed behaviors. Conscious experiences are considered the outcome of abstractions realized out of map overlays and provided by sustained oscillatory activity. The key feature of this blueprint is that it offers a perspective of the Hard Problem of Consciousness from the point of view of the subject; the experience of ‘being the subject’ is predicted to be the realization of inference inversely mapped out of hidden causes of global integrated actions. The author explains the consistencies of his blueprint with ideas of the Global Neuronal Workspace and the Adaptive Resonance Theory of consciousness as well as with the empirical evidence supporting the Integrated Information Theory. A Blueprint for the Hard Problem of Consciousness offers a unique perspective to readers interested in the scientific philosophy and cognitive neuroscience theory in relation to models of the theory of consciousness.

Author : David Ballin Klein
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 1984
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UOM:39015005262657

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The Concept of Consciousness by David Ballin Klein Pdf

Author : Joao Branquinho
Publisher : Clarendon Press
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2001-07-26
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0191588032

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The Foundations of Cognitive Science by Joao Branquinho Pdf

The Foundations of Cognitive Science is a set of thirteen new essays on key topics in this lively interdisciplinary field, by a stellar international line-up of authors. Philosophers, psychologists, and neurologists here come together to investigate such fascinating subjects as consciousness; vision; rationality; artificial life; the neural basis of language, cognition, and emotion; and the relations between mind and world, for instance our representation of numbers and space. The contributors are Ned Block, Margaret Boden, Susan Carey, Patricia Churchland, Paul Churchland, Antonio Damasio, Hanna Damasio, Donald Davidson, Daniel Dennett, Ilya Farber, James Higginbotham, Christopher Peacocke, Will Peterman, Zenon Pylyshyn, John Searle. Anyone interested in the exploration of the human mind will enjoy this book.

Author : Michael Tye
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2011-08-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780262516631

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Consciousness Revisited by Michael Tye Pdf

Four major puzzles of consciousness philosophical materialism must confront after rejecting the phenomenal concept strategy. We are material beings in a material world, but we are also beings who have experiences and feelings. How can these subjective states be just a matter of matter? To defend materialism, philosophical materialists have formulated what is sometimes called "the phenomenal-concept strategy," which holds that we possess a range of special concepts for classifying the subjective aspects of our experiences. In Consciousness Revisited, the philosopher Michael Tye, until now a proponent of the the phenomenal-concept strategy, argues that the strategy is mistaken. A rejection of phenomenal concepts leaves the materialist with the task of finding some other strategy for defending materialism. Tye points to four major puzzles of consciousness that arise: How is it possible for Mary, in the famous thought experiment, to make a discovery when she leaves her black-and-white room? In what does the explanatory gap consist and how can it be bridged? How can the hard problem of consciousness be solved? How are zombies possible? Tye presents solutions to these puzzles—solutions that relieve the pressure on the materialist created by the failure of the phenomenal-concept strategy. In doing so, he discusses and makes new proposals on a wide range of issues, including the nature of perceptual content, the conditions necessary for consciousness of a given object, the proper understanding of change blindness, the nature of phenomenal character and our awareness of it, whether we have privileged access to our own experiences, and, if we do, in what such access consists.

Author : David J. Chalmers
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 928 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2021-01-04
Category : Philosophy of mind
ISBN : 0190640855

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Philosophy of Mind by David J. Chalmers Pdf

Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings is a grand tour of writings on the perplexing questions about the nature of the mind. The most comprehensive and best-selling collection of its kind, the book includes selections that range from the classical contributions of Descartes to the leading edge of contemporary debates. Extensive sections cover foundational issues, the nature of consciousness, and the nature of mental content. Three of the selections are published for the first time, while many other articles have been revised especially for this volume. Each section opens with an introduction by the editor.

Author : Trevor A. Harley
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 515 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2021-02-18
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781107125285

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The Science of Consciousness by Trevor A. Harley Pdf

An introduction to the psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience of consciousness, including sleep, dreaming, meditative, and altered states.

Author : Thomas Natsoulas
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 475 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2015-09-11
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781107022270

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The Conceptual Representation of Consciousness by Thomas Natsoulas Pdf

This book seeks to explicate six basic concepts of consciousness from a variety of psychological, philosophical, historical, and lexicographic perspectives.