Metaphysical Issues of Consciousness:
How do we define Consciousness?
Consciousness in its very fundamental form can be defined as an inherent and intrinsic property of mind. And in fact no other aspect of mind is as intriguing, appealing and perplexing as consciousness, and our conscious experience of ‘self’ and everything else except the ‘self’. Both the notions evidently appear as totally complementary to each other. The very concept of ‘Consciousness’ is undoubtedly the principal issue to be addressed in the process of theorizing and so called ‘defining’ of mind. Presently there is no general mutual agreement upon a fixed theory which clearly explains ‘Consciousness’ in its most pristine form. But there is indeed a widespread belief/consensus on the notion that a sufficient account of mind requires an in-depth analysis and understanding of ‘Consciousness’ and scrutiny of its relevance in nature. We need to realize that what exactly ‘Consciousness’ is, at the very heart of it, and how is it related to other non-conscious
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Fundamental Property dualism asserts that the conscious mental properties are the primary constituents of what we define as reality, which are in sync with fundamental physical properties of nature. Like for example consider an electric charge. It may interact with other fundamental physical properties of nature like say, magnetic field, in a way that obeys the very foundations of the Laws of Physics. Alternatively, these properties can be termed as independent of other properties of similar nature.
2. Emergent Property dualism treats the “Conscious” mental properties as the manifestations of complex organizations of physical constituents, but in a rather revolutionary manner, as a result of which the emergent property produced is such that it is way ahead of its root cause, which is purely physical in nature and the emergent result thus produced, is not predictable and can’t be expressed in terms of the physical factors constituting
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
Many people underestimate the ability of the mind. Some do not fully realize that we all have a brain, but it is the experiences that a person has that make up the mind. With such experiences, the mind has the capability to recall and judge. Due to such dynamics, the mind should be considered as a crucial attribute in the daily lives of us humans as it can either daunt us or help us. However, the mind can be controlled to a certain extent.
But, with this being, there is no consciousness inside. It lives, acts, and breathes as if it were a normal human, with nothing to differentiate it from a being that has a consciousness. David Chalmers uses this example to help emphasize the idea of consciousness, and how
Duality exists not only in human nature, but also in the world around us. Duality is everywhere, but sometimes it can be hard to notice it while others may be obvious. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde it was easy to point out the duality because it was a physical element. In The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, it was harder because some of the dualities were not physical objects while some were physical. Duality is the two sides of a concept.
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.
He begins by arguing that for an organism to have an experience there has to be something it is like to be that particular organism. He refers to that something as the “subjective character of experience.” Correspondingly, reductive theories about the mental are
In this paper, I will be defending that physical events within the brain explain the functional parts of consciousness, while also producing the subjective experiences—qualia—as a consequence. I will be defending the property dualist idea of epiphenomenalism. But what is epiphenomenalism in terms of
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?
"It dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like, mayhap, in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil." () Double Consciousness is an idea that William Edward Burghardt first used in the 1897 article of the quote previously mentioned, The Atlantic. Double Consciousness describes the individual sensation of feeling as though your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult or impossible to have one unified identity.()W.E.B Dubois’s perspective on double consciousness relates to African-Americans. Dubois believed that White Americans have one standpoint of African Americans. On the contrary, we as African Americans have our own society, but we have to deal
Within the unconscious mind exists three different apparatuses: Id, Ego, and
To begin with, Dualism is the philosophical doctrine, first introduced by Rene Descartes, that the Mind and Body are two distinct separate entities. Rene Descartes believed that the Mind and Body were separate entities that were not only independent from one another, but that both were composed of dissimilar elements. Descartes explains that the body, and all its physiological attributes, are composed of “Physical” matter, and as such, dwells in the material realm and abides the laws of Physics or the laws of nature. Conversely, the Mind and all its attributes, thoughts, emotions and qualia, are composed of “Spiritual” matter, and as such, dwells in the immaterial realm and does not abide to the laws of physics or nature.
Does hard problem of consciousness exist? When we think of consciousness, we think of the awareness of our individual thoughts, memories, feelings, sensation, and the surrounding environment. Consciousness is a very important part of us, yet it is also one of the most complex parts. Consciousness is something we experience constantly, yet we are not able to measure it, and do not have enough words to describe it.
Since the beginning of philosophy, the argument of the mind-body problem has been constantly debated. The mind-body problem asks what the connection is between the mind and the body. Many philosophers have come up with their own theories to answer this predicament but each theory that philosophers have come up with has some indication of a flaw. The mind-body problem is a philosophical issue that inquires the relationship among the mental and physical properties. The fundamental point regarding the mind-body problem considers whether perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and other mental features are an extension of physical features or if they remain entirely independent of the physical world.
He will counter that the laws of physics are not actually real; that they are just names given to regularities of the world discovered and documented by conscious beings (nominalism); or that they are mere concepts in the (material) mind—like the Pythagorean Theorem or the cardinal numbers—concepts that facilitate our talking about the world (conceptualism).[20] One understands the materialist’s argument, of course, but it misses the point. Yes, of course we hold laws in the mind, and of course they do facilitate discussion amongst us. But unlike the Pythagorean Theorem or the cardinal numbers, the laws of nature very obviously have been here from the beginning, and will not go away when we do.