Here are some recent reflections by me on the problem of consciousness. May I first point out that the problem of consciousness - how consciousness come about - is far from solved, if it every will. This view, that the problem of consciousness will never be solved, is called the mysterian view. Other views include the materialist view, the idealist view, the dualist view and the cognitive/functional/phenomenal view.
The materialist view equates consciousness with brain processes. It has its´ functional advantages but it also causes new issues. For instance, where does consciousness start? Why is a stone unconscious and a living brain not? The opposite view of materialism is idealism; the idea that everything is consciousness only, an equally logically consistent idea to materialism and difficult to argue against. Solipsism is an example of idealism; the idea that my mind is the only thing there is. Modern dualism is different from Cartesian dualism. Old dualism distinguished the soul from the body and it was believed that the soul could affect matter. Modern dualists usually do not believe it is possible, because that would go against the laws of nature and physics. From that point of view, the placebo effect must be an entirely physical process. Examples of modern dualism are property dualism and epiphenomenalism. A property dualist acknowledges that the brain consists of matter, but that consciousness is a distinct property of the brain. Epiphenomenalists also accept that consciousness is distinct from matter, but that consciousness it is causally impotent, meaning that it cannot exercise any influence on the material world. It is a passenger just tagging along. This of course threatens our everyday notion of a conscious free will (but not the idea of an "unconscious" free will) If the dualist view is drawn to its extreme, we may come to some extreme conclusions, if the view is to be consistent. For instance, if we believe that consciousness is a property of matter, we may come to believe that all matter has consciousness. An alternate view on consciousness is the cognitive/functional/ phenomenal one. This view holds that consciousness always is a representation of something else. This representation can be either conscious or unconscious. So, for instance, if I am feeling an itch, I am actually perceiving a representation of some disturbance in my body. Or if I am thinking on my last vacation in Paris, I am experiencing a mental representation or memory of my vacation in Paris. From this light, higher order thinking, so called metacognition, are actually higher order representations of thoughts. A representations of a representation of a representation, so to speak. Some philosophers even believe that consciousness emerged with the development of human culture; once we learned to represent the world in images and stories we also became conscious beings. Schema theory is related to the cognitive perspective. When it comes down to it, we may never be able to more than describe the properties of the mind, never explain its´ origins and emergence. On the other hand, this is also the case for other sciences, such as physics and biology, that tend to describe the world, but cannot explain why the phenomena being studying came about. Big bang, yes - but why and before that? Evolution, yes - but why?
4 Comments
Book
10/3/2011 02:18:18 am
I really enjoyed your post Mr. Hansson. I am taking Philosophy of Mind class and we are doing the same sort of topic you discussed. Also just took my Cognitive Psychology exam just now!
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Mr Hansson
10/4/2011 01:35:59 pm
Nice to hear, Book. I was really tired when I wrote the post and it was quite hard to write it, because you have to think a lot when it comes to these things. What's your opinion on consciousness, by the way? I usually identify with property dualism.
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Book
10/5/2011 01:57:01 pm
I would second your opinion because I also find property dualism to make a lot of sense, especially the description of emergent materialism.
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Mr Hansson
10/5/2011 11:30:51 pm
Emergent materialism sounds a lot like dualism. Do you believe that consciousness can influence the brain (mental causation) or do you believe that it is causally impotent (consciousness cannot influence the brain)
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AuthorThis is my class blog for IB Psychology. Here I will publish reflections on psychology, reviews of psychology books, recommended links, lecture notes, and information on psychology topics that are not covered by the syllabus. You are free to add comments or ask me questions. Archives
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