Exam 3 - Consciousness Flashcards
Consciousness
A person’s subjective experience of the world and the mind (inner + outer world) resulting from brain activity
Phenomenology
The study of how things seem to the conscious person
Problem of other minds
The fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others - so we can never know if two people experience the world in exactly the same way
Philosopher’s zombie
A hypothetical non-conscious person that could talk about experiences and even seem to react to them, but without having any experience (i.e. consciousness)
Can we tell whether someone is a “zombie”?
No, we can’t due to the problem of other minds
What are the two dimensions of mind perception?
Experience and agency
Experience (mind perception dimension)
The ability to feel pain, pleasure, hunger, etc.
Agency (mind perception dimension)
The ability for self-control, planning, memory
mind-body problem
the issue of how the mind is related to the brain and body
What is the order of electrical signals (for conscious movement)?
Brain activity begins (-525 msec), then a conscious wish to act is experienced (-204 msec), then finger movement occurs (0 msec)
i.e. Brain activity precedes conscious awareness of thought/action/desire
What are the five basic properties of consciousness
Subjectivity intentionality unity selectivity transience
Intentionality
Quality of being directed toward an object - consciousness is always about something
Unity
Refers to the ability to integrate information from all of the body’s senses into one coherent consciousnous
Selectivity
The capacity to include some objects but not others - consciousness filters out some information while tuning in to others
Dichotic listening
A task in which people wearing headphones hear different messages presented to each ear
Cocktail-party phenomenon
A phenomenon in which people tune in one message even while they filter out others nearby
How does consciousness decide what to filter in and what to tune out?
Consciousness is inclined to select information of SPECIAL INTEREST to the person.
transience
tendency to change; Consciousness is always going from “right now” to the next “right now”
Why does the stream of conscious flow transiently?
Likely due to the limited capacity of the conscious mind - so when we get new info, our attention must change
Levels of consciousness
Distinguish the different “levels” of awareness; one is sometimes more aware at one time than another
Minimal consciousness
A low-level kind of sensory awareness and responsiveness that occurs when the mind inputs sensations and may output behaviour
Example of minimal consciousness
Being poked while you are asleep, and turning over
Full onciousness
A level of consciousness in which you know and are able to report your mental state
i.e. thinking about things and also thinking about the fact you are thinking about things
Self-consciousness
A distinct level of consciousness which the person’s attention is drawn to the self as an object