Consciousness: An Introduction - Blackmore - 2nd European edition - BulletPoints

What's the problem? CH.1

• The problem of consciousness is related to one of the oldest questions of philosophy: what does the world consist of? Who am I? This is in principle related to the mind-body problem: what is the relationship between the physical and the mental? Solutions to this problem can be distinguished in monistic theories, which suggest that there are one kind of things in the world, and dualistic theories, which suggest that there are two kinds of things.

• Monistic theories assume that the world consists of only one kind of matter (body or mind). Examples of supporters of these monistic theories are the materialists.

• In dualism it is a combination of matter (the body) and spirit. The most famous dualist is René Descartes. There are two types of dualism, namely, knowledge of dualism and substance dualism.

• The term "psychology" first appeared in the eighteenth century to describe the philosophy of mental life, but it was towards the end of the nineteenth century when psychology was seen as a science. Important psychologists during this period were James, Wundt and Freud. After that behaviorism came under the direction of Watson, who saw psychology as a natural science that should have the goal of predicting and influencing behavior.

• Chalmers states that the ambiguities about consciousness can be divided into easy problems and hard problems.

What is it like to be ...? CH.2

• Qualia are private qualities, the way someone experiences an experience. Conscious experiences consist of qualia and the problem of consciousness can be reformulated in terms of how the qualia are related to the physical world or how objective brains produce subjective qualia.

• To investigate whether qualia can have added value, thought experiments such as Mary's experiment and the experiment of the philosophy zombie can be used. Different reactions are possible here.

• Scientists have reacted in different ways to Chalmers' idea that there is a hard question when we talk about consciousness. These reactions can be divided into: (1) the hard problem is unsolvable, (2) the hard problem is solved, (3) it is essential to first solve the easy problem, and (4) there is no hard problem. Churchland even states that the problem is misunderstood.

How do conscious and unconscious activities differ from each other? CH.3

• We assume that our subjective feelings and conscious choices cause our actions. If you examine the brain, however, there seems to be no room for this. Information comes through the senses and is then further processed by various parts of the brain. This then ensures the actions of the individual.

• Milner and Goodale state that there is a difference between two visual systems:

• (1) visual perception and (2) visual-motor control. These systems are related to the ventral and the dorsal route. According to Milner and Goodale, visual motor control is more dominant than visual perception in tasks performed by the brain.

• We can generally divide actions into five categories:

• (1) actions that are always unconscious, (2) actions that can consciously be controlled, (3) actions that are consciously carried out, but with time unconsciously performed, (4) actions that can be carried out both consciously and unconsciously, and (5) actions that always have to be carried out consciously.

• Representational theories can be subdivided into higher-order perception theory (HOP) and higher-order thought (HOT). According to HOP, being aware of a mental condition means monitoring the mental state. HOT states that consciousness is about having a thought about the situation.

How can the mind be seen as theater? CH.4

• Hume states that the mind is a kind of theater where different perceptions appear, pass by, come back again and mix in different situations. Dennett introduced the concept of 'Cartesian theater' (CT). This means that we feel that our "I" is somewhere in our head.

• The global workspace theory (GWT) of Baars is based on the theater hypothesis. He states that conscious events happen in the theater of consciousness. He states that there is a big difference between the limited number of items available in consciousness and the many unconscious processes that are present. Baars states that consciousness is not an incident, but he also states that consciousness is not something mysterious.

• Dennett is in favor of the multiple drafts model. This model states that all mental activities (perceptions, emotions and thoughts) in the brain arise through parallel processes in different brain routes. These processes ensure that sensory input can be interpreted.

What do attention and timing have to do with consciousness? CH.5

• There are various ideas today about the relationship between attention and consciousness. There are basically two opposing ideas about awareness and attention. The first idea is that if attention is paid to something, it will end up in consciousness. The other idea is that consciousness leads the attention processes as it were and that this is the greatest function of consciousness. James called these theories the theory of theories and the theory of success.

• Attention can be involuntary or intentionally focused and these two processes depend largely on different systems in the brain. Examples of involuntary attention are covert attention (looking at the one object, while the focus is on another object) and the 'pop-up effect' (when there is a stimulus between different stimuli that is different from the rest, then it will 'pop out' and draw the attention).

• Libet performed experiments showing that there should be about half a second of neural activity to cause consciousness. The referral hypothesis ('backwards referral hypothesis') predicts that stimulation of the medial lemniscus should be referred back ('subjective referral'). Libet states on the basis of his experiments that an experience is only conscious when it lasts for at least half a second.

What is meant by 'the grand illusion'? CH.6

• The term 'the grand illusion' stands for the idea that the richness of our visual world is an illusion. This term arose from research into 'changing blindness' and 'non-intentional blindness'. Inattentional blindness means that there is no question of conscious perception when something is not in the attention.

• James says we can not take in everything we see while looking around. Yet we are not aware that we have looked over things. There are all kinds of visions about gaps: 'isomorphic filling-in' (the brain actually fills in all the details so that a complete image is created in the brain), 'symbolic filling-in' (the gaps become at a higher level of the visual system and this is more conceptual in nature, instead of a picture being filled in) and the vision that the brain does not need to fill in gaps.

• There are different theories about vision. Simons and Levin say that we have a rich visual experience when we focus on something. Rensink believes that people can never have a complete representation of the world. We only make a representation of an object when it is needed, but we do not have a representation of it everywhere. O'Regan and Noë believe that seeing has nothing to do with building internal representations of objects. They are in favor of a sensorimotor theory of vision and visual awareness.

What do 'the self' and 'the multiple self' mean? CH.7

• Questions about the nature of consciousness are closely tied to questions about the nature of the self, because it seems as if someone experiencing it is needed to bring about experiences. There are two ideas about the self in psychology: (1) there is such a thing as a self that has all kinds of experiences and decisions, and (2) it seems as if there is a self, but in reality this is not the case. From the first vision the egotheories arise and from the second vision the bundling theories originated.

• In people with a multiple personality, it seems that several selves live in them. The most famous example of a person with multiple personality disorder is described by Prince who treated Mrs. Beauchamp. Prince was clearly a supporter of the ego-theories. He believed not only in the 'true Mrs. Beauchamp', but also in various other different selves who were different states of consciousness with a separate will.

• Around 1960, operations were performed in which the passage(s) between both hemispheres was cut to reduce symptoms of epilepsy. A person in whom this operation was performed is called a 'split brain patient'. Gazzaniga initially believed that there is a 'double conscious system' in split brain patients. So there would be two different forms of consciousness among these people. MacKay believes, however, that there is no evidence for this assumption. He distinguished between executive and supervising parts of the brain. Supporters of the bundle theory argue that the discussion of split brain patients has one consciousness or two is unnecessary, because according to them there is no 'separate' self.

Which theories about the self are there? CH.8

• Central to James' theory about consciousness and self is the continuity and unity of the self. James sees continuity of the self only as a potential: the thought as a temporary administrator of other thoughts. He distinguished between the empirical self and the pure ego. The empirical self contains three aspects: (1) the material self, (2) the social self, and (3) subjective experiences.

• Damasio distinguishes between the 'proto-self', the 'core-self' and the 'autobiographical self'. Damasio believes that this itself is not a separate entity, but has to do with your life story.

• According to Hofstadter, the brain is full of loops, consisting of many levels of loop-like self-descriptions. Strawson described what he called the pearl vision ('pearl view'). He believes that there are many mental ones that alternate themselves at different times, just like pearls on a chain. According to this view, selves really exist, but they are not separate entities.

When is there a question of free will? CH.9

• The basic question about free will is whether we are free to make our actions and decisions. There are two major problems here, namely determinism (if this universe runs through deterministic laws, then everything that happens should be inevitable) and moral responsibility if I am not free to choose my actions, how can I be morally or responsible? for these actions?).

• If we perform a voluntary operation, the frontal lobes are activated. Damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) can lead to a lack of spontaneous activity and to stereotypic actions. Research also shows that the DLPFC is associated with the subjective experience of decision making.

• Since 1960 it is clear that the 'readiness potential' (RP) precedes voluntary movements. Research on this seems to show that consciousness is too late to be the cause of the movement. Libet argued that unconscious brain processes are the cause of a voluntary movement, but the consciousness can (just before the voluntary movement is carried out) stop it or not. However, this assumption has received much criticism, for example the doubt about the method.

• Wegner states that a free choice must meet three criteria: (1) the thought must precede the action, (2) the thought must correspond with the action, and (3) the thought must have no other causes (except free will).

How do the brain and consciousness interact with each other? CH.10

• With the research into 'the neural correlates of consciousness' (NCC) aspects of neural functioning can be studied and it can be checked whether these correspond to the conscious experiences that people express. At NCC it is the correlation between neural functioning and conscious experiences without making any pronouncements about the causal relationship between the two.

• There are two theories that have been used to find the NCC. The first theory is from Penrose and Hameroff about the quantum coherence in microtubules. The second theory came from Flohr. He argues that outside awareness caused by drugs is caused by the inhibition of processes that depend on NMDA receptors.

• Dualists state that pain is in the mind and therefore can not be localized. How pain is inflicted appears to make a difference in neural activity. There appears to be a correlation between the type of pain and neural activity - and also between the degree to which someone experiences pain and neural activity.

In what way can consciousness be seen as a unit? CH.11

• It seems like we only have one consciousness. If you look at the brain, then you see that there is complexity and diversity. A central question here is: where does the interaction between the mind and the brain take place?

• The binding problem consists of the question of how we perceive something like a falling coin as one thing. Some people think that the binding problem is the same as understanding how attention works. Malsburg stated that the simultaneous, coordinated firing of neurons in the visual cortex is the basis of visual binding. According to Zeki, there are multiple micro-awareness and the visual system consists of many separate and specialized systems that function in parallel.

• Integration of information that enters multiple senses (called multisensory integration) depends on neurons that respond to input from more than one sense. The main part of the brain is the superior colliculus in the midbrain.

• Supporters of the theory of re-entry by neuronal group selection 'state that consciousness depends on continuous, self-repeating, parallel processes between parts of the thalamus and cortex. A distinction is made between two types of consciousness: a primary consciousness and the higher order consciousness.

What is the influence of brain damage on consciousness? CH.12

• Korkasoff's is the most common form of memory loss (also called amnestic syndrome) and is caused by the toxic effects of alcohol and by a deficiency of thiamine caused by malnutrition. There are two types of memory loss: (1) anterograde amnesia (can no longer store long-term memories) and (2) retrograde amnesia (when someone has lost all his memories of the past). People with memory loss do have a consciousness. However, there is no interaction with them between current information and stored information.

• We speak of neglect when people ignore one half of their visual field. This can occur, for example, when someone becomes paralyzed. Sometimes people do not realize that they are paralyzed, in which case we speak of anosognosia.

• Blind vision is common in people who have damage to parts of the visual cortex on one side. It seems to a patient with blind vision that he is not aware of what he sees. A patient with blind vision therefore has vision without consciousness.

What is the connection between evolution and consciousness? CH.13

• Evolution literally means gradual change. According to Darwin, there were slow changes on the earth and variation among organisms. Species that survive would pass on what helped them to survive to the next generation ('survival of the fittest'). Dennett speaks about 'evolutionary algorithm': if there is a three-part algorithm of variation, heredity and selection, then evolution has to take place.

• Lamarck argued that there must first be an internal force that directs progress in one direction and that, in addition, the inheritance of acquired characteristics is required. His theory is called Lamarckism and is nowadays declared incorrect. Dawkins came in 1976 with the 'selfish gene theory'. The ultimate goal of natural selection is not the kind, not the group, not the individual, but the gene. Genes are egoistic ('selfish') in the sense that they want to be passed on.

• The question that goes with the statement that consciousness has evolved is: does consciousness have a function? Four visions exist here: (1) epiphenomenalism: consciousness can be separated from adaptive characteristics, but it makes no distinctive difference and has no effects, (2) consciousness has an adaptive function, consciousness can be separated from adaptive characteristics and it adds something new, (3) the consciousness has no independent function, the consciousness can not be separated from adaptive characteristics, and (4) consciousness is an illusion.

What views on the function of consciousness are there? CH.14

• Two central questions are: (1) when does consciousness arise during human development ?, and (2) which contemporary beings are conscious? Pan psychologists believe that consciousness is not an all-or-nothing principle, but develops in different sizes. They believe that consciousness was already present before the evolution took place.

• Humphrey states that consciousness is an 'emergent property'. This means that the consciousness stands for a combination of factors. He also stated that consciousness is a 'surface feature' that influences natural selection. He states that within the brain there is a kind of internal eye ('inner eye') that gives an image of the brain activity of a person himself (and therefore not of the outside world). A consequence of this theory is that only intelligent and social organisms can have a consciousness.

• Many evolution theories speak about the relationship between natural selection and genes. Evolutionary processes that act on genes also work on all kinds of other forms of 'replicators' (which genes are an example of). Dawkins also calls this universal Darwinism.

How can the consciousness of animals be investigated? CH.15

• There are two views on the question of whether animals also have a consciousness: (1) the view that only people have a consciousness, and (2) the view that many (animal) species are physically similar and that therefore they all have to be aware to have.

• To test whether animals are self-aware, a mirror test can be used. It is then examined whether animals can recognize themselves in the mirror. However, there are two problems with this test: (1) the is not fair for all animal species, for example for animals that can not touch their own face, and (2) most monkeys experience it as threatening when stared at them.

• Part of our consciousness is that we have beliefs, desires and mental states and that we also attribute mental states to other people. We also call this 'theory of mind' (TOM). Imitation is also the basis for experiencing empathy for others. However, there is often an individual learning process that arises through attempts that lead to mistakes and success, which means that there is seldom any imitation of others.

• The biggest difference between people and animals is that people do not have language and animals. This means that if language is the cause of man's self-consciousness, then the consciousness of other organisms should be different than ours. However, it is still not clear whether animals are conscious or not.

How can a machine be taught intellect? CH.16

• When asked if people are a machine, two answers are possible. We can start with biology and try to understand how neural systems work or we can make artificial systems and see to what extent they correspond to a human being.

• Descartes believed that the human body is a machine, but that this machine can not provide voice and rational thought on its own. Tuning believed that there could be a simple machine that could specify steps needed to solve every problem, a Universal Tuning Machine.

• Connectionism is based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) and parallel processing. ANNs are used to mimic human human cells.

• Embodied cognition stands for the idea that the mind can only be created if something interacts with the environment.

• Tuning has designed various tests to investigate whether machines can think, including a chess test.

What views are there on the consciousness of machines? CH.17

• When asked whether a machine has a consciousness, two answers are possible from two perspectives. A functionalist will say that robots have a consciousness because they can perform certain tasks as robots. However, an inessentialist does not believe that machines or robots can have a consciousness because there is no inner experience with machines.

• There are several arguments to indicate that machines could never have a consciousness. For example, based on your religion, you can say that God has only given a consciousness to man. It is also possible to say that robots have no consciousness, because only living organisms can have a consciousness.

• Searle coined the Chinese Room thought experiment with which he stated that a computer itself can never really understand anything. He thinks that man has intentionality and not a machine. According to Searle, intentionality is a subjective issue and therefore related to consciousness.

• There has been a lot of criticism on Searle. So there has been the 'brain simulator reply'. This means that there can be a program that can simulate the way neurons fire in Chinese brains. There are also differences of opinion about what Searle's thought experiment really proves. Finally, there is the argument that there are things that machines can not do. If we can do these things, it means that we are more than just machines and that we have something special, namely a consciousness.

How should a conscious machine be built? CH.18

• Kismet was the first robot to look like a human being. You might think that Kismet has no consciousness because it consists of metal and performs simple routine actions. Yet it is true that there is no place in Kismet where 'everything comes together' (as is sometimes said about consciousness).

• Suppose people have an X that ensures that they have a consciousness. If we want to make a conscious robot, then we have to figure out what this X is. McGinn wonders whether this X (which he calls C *) can exist in objects. He concludes that we can never know that.

• Stuart proposes 'engaged embodiment'; purposeful animation, perception, imagination and the ability to recognize experiences as own experiences.

• Aleksander came up with the Kernel Architecture (KA). The key mechanism in this is depicting: creating a direct representation where elements of the world are located that ensure that attention can be directed in a suitable manner.

How does unconscious processing work? CH.19

• Cheesman and Merikle distinguished between an objective threshold value (the level of detection by which a distinction is made between perceptual information on the basis of random phenomena) and subjective threshold value (the value at which participants say that they could not distinguish between perceptual information and that their answers come from random phenomena). .

• It is also possible that unconscious perception affects the emotions of people. Brain scans also show that unconscious perception can be found in the brain, for example in the amygdala.

• Opinions vary widely as to whether unconscious problem solving takes place. Broadbent and Berry have conducted studies showing that it is possible to unconsciously solve problems.

• There are three parts of intuition, namely cognitive processes, social skills and emotion.

• Creativity can be seen as a way in which explicit and intuitive skills come together. However, it is not clear where creativity comes from. Perhaps creativity allows people to bring together cultural knowledge ('memes') in special ways to form new memes.

How can we distinguish between reality and imagination? CH.20

• In daily life we ​​often distinguish between the outside world and what goes on in our heads. We do this without knowing that we use a skill for this. This skill is called 'reality monitoring' or 'reality discrimination'.

• A hallucination is an experience that: (1) occurs in the absence of a stimulus,

• (2) has a great influence on the real perception, and (3) can not be controlled voluntarily. Although hallucinations are often aligned with pathology, there are several reasons to reject this. Firstly, it is not clear how hallucinations can be distinguished from other experiences and secondly, hallucinations are common in the population. Third, there are cultural differences in attitudes to hallucinations. In many cultures, hallucinations are valued because it could be closer to ghosts or gods

• Some hallucinations occur spontaneously and others are caused by drugs, illness, hunger, lack of sleep or the use of rituals.

• We often have hallucinations just when we almost fall asleep. Maury called these hallucinations 'hypnagogic images' or 'hypnagogic hallucinations'. Consciousness during sleep paralysis occurs when normal paralysis during REM sleep begins too late, the person just falls asleep or when paralysis takes too long when someone is awakening.

What does the paranormal all encompass? CH.21

• Paranormal experiences are common and many people believe in it. Moreover, paranormal experiences have many implications for science. Paranormal experiences have been described for several centuries, especially during the nineteenth century spiritualism was very popular.

• Rhine and Rhine tried with the term 'extrasensory perception', ESP, to find evidence against materialism and behaviorism. ESP covered three types of communication that require no senses, namely (1) telepathy (where information is passed on from one person to another), (2) 'clairvoyance' (here comes information from objects or events that are remote) and (3) 'precognition' (information coming from the future). Rhine and Rhine used the term 'psi' when they talked about paranormal activities.

• Psychokinesis (PK) stands for the ability to influence objects or events without touching them or using a different force. Nowadays PK's research is mainly about micro-PK, the so-called effect of the human mind on microscopic or mechanical systems. The parapsychologists who are convinced of the existence of PK make explicit claims that the consciousness is involved.

• Paranormal activity probably does not exist. Despite the fact that a lot of research has been done, we still can not give certain information about this subject.

Which drugs affect consciousness and how? CH.22

• The 'other form of consciousness' formulated by James is now called 'changed states of consciousness', abbreviated as ASCs. However, there are many problems with the exact definition of ASCs. This makes it difficult to state the state of consciousness (SoC).

• Farthing states that we need to look at fourteen points if we want to know what exactly changes when someone experiences an ASC. The three most important factors are (1) attention, (2) memory and (3) alertness. Thinking about the above three terms (attention, memory and alertness) means that we can imagine a kind of three-dimensional space in which all possible ASCs are positioned. Tart described a simple space with two dimensions: irrationality and the ability to hallucinate. A second two-dimensional space was described by Laureys. His dimensions are completely different from the dimensions described by Tart, namely: the level of arousal and the awareness of the environment and the self.

• Psychoactive drugs affect mental functioning or consciousness. These drugs can be classified into different categories, for example stimulants, antidepressants, cannabis and psychedelics.

What do sleep and dreams have to do with consciousness? CH.23

• Every day we take cycles with three states: (1) being vigilant, (2) REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and (3) non-REM sleep. Reports of non-REM dreams are often short and have few details. When people wake up during the REM sleep, they often say that they have had a bizarre and complex dream.

• Hobson drew up three categories to show that bizarre dreams can take different forms. These categories are: (1) incongruity, (2) discontinuity, and (3) uncertainty. He also drew up the AIM model about sleep. The abbreviation AIM stands for three different dimensions of sleep: (1) activation energy, (2) input source, and (3) mode. According to Hobson, sleep phases can be distinguished on the basis of values ​​on these three dimensions.

• Sometimes it happens in a dream that there is 'false awakening'. In that case, the dreamer dreams that he or she has woken up. With a lucid dream, you know that you are dreaming while dreaming. There are various techniques to cause lucid dreams.

• Brain scans show that when we see or hear something, the same sensory areas are activated as when we only imagine it. The same seems to apply to dreams.

What are examples of 'exceptional human experiences'? CH.24

• An exceptional experience is referred to in English as an 'exceptional human experience', abbreviated to EHE. There are different views on the existence of EHE. Some people think that people lie with EHE. Others think that people with an EHE have a paranormal soul and others say that such experiences are normal.

• Out-of-body experiences, OBE, are events in which someone feels that he is outside of himself and looks at the world. The brain area that is involved in an OBE appears to be the tempo parietal junction (TJP), on the right. Visual, tactile, proprioceptive and vestibular information come together in this area.

• During an almost death experience, near death experience NDE, someone experiences a bright, white or golden light, positive and loving emotions, images of a different world, a reflection on life and the decision to return. Two theories to interpret NDE are the 'afterlife hypothesis' and the 'dying brain hypothesis'.

• James states that an experience can be called 'mystical' if four conditions are met: (1) not being able to retell it in words ('ineffability'), (2) 'neotic', (3) impermanence ('transiency') ), and (4) passivity. Other criteria have been added by Suzuki. He says that a mystical experience still goes hand in hand with 'exaltation' and 'affirmation'.

What’s the view from within? CH.25

• The research into consciousness is sometimes divided into two categories:

• (1) the objective third-person approach, and (2) the subjective first-person approach.

• Chalmers distinguishes between three types: A, B and C. People with an A-view are often functionalists or eliminativists. People with a B-view are often also materialists, but reject the idea of ​​logical supremacy of the physical. People with a type C view deny materialism and include different types of dualism. Dennett thinks he is the leader of the A team and that Chalmers is the leader of the B team.

• Phenomenology is about the inner world that people experience. The term neurophenomenology was used by Varela to indicate the search for a modern cognitive science and a disciplined approach to human experience. Varela provided a simple diagram to understand the place of neurophenomenology in science, consisting of the following four directions: (1) functionalism, (2) reductionism, (3) mysterianism, and (4) phenomenology.

• Velmans states that there is no distinction between subjective and objective matters. He proposes a recurring model ('reflexive model of consciousness').

• Heterophenomenology is about studying things that other people experience.

What is known about the effect of meditation and mindfulness? CH.26

• Meditation can be summarized as: (1) not thinking, but (2) having attention. Meditation often goes hand in hand with a special body posture. The goal is to make the body alert and relaxed. There are two methods for practicing meditation, namely (1) open methods and (2) concentration methods.

• Open meditation means that you are aware of everything that happens around you, but that you do not react to it. Mindfulness meditation is a form of open meditation that is derived from Buddhism and is defined as actively maximizing the breathing and clarity of consciousness 'or' giving attention in a certain way with the aim of living in the here and now without judgments'.

• Concentration mediation is about focusing attention on one thing without being distracted. Sometimes special techniques are used to adjust the speed of breathing or to exert influence on whether breathing is more out of the abdomen or more out of the chest.

• Transcendental meditation is seen as an effective method to relax and reduce stress. For this reason, meditation is sometimes prescribed by doctors to reduce high blood pressure.

What visions are there on 'awakening'? CH.27

• Buddha taught his followers that all things that exist are relative and dependent on each other and that these things arise from what came before these things. This vision can be seen as an early statement of the scientific principle of cause and effect. Buddha denied the possibility of being aware without involved perceptions, actions and sensations.

• In Buddhism, 'samsara' stands for a continuous circle of birth and death. This has to do with the origins of suffering.

• There are various similarities between Buddhism and psychotherapy. They both have the goal to transform the individual. However, the difference between the two lies in the fact that psychotherapy aims to create a coherent self, while Buddhism aims to transcend a sense of self.

• 'Awakening' is described as the end point of a long spiritual journey. Buddhism states that our experiences are illusions. An illusion is not something that does not exist, but something that is something other than what it seems.

• Buddhism is based on 'annatta', which means 'no self'. This does not mean that the self does not exist, but that it is conditioned and temporary as everything else. In Buddhism, 'karma' is also an important concept. Buddha states that karma is about free will and voluntary actions.