![Image](https://www.worldsupporter.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/bundle/wereldbol_summaries_joho_single_boek_1_150x190px_0.png?itok=PgQm9J5z)
JoHo kan jouw hulp goed gebruiken! Check hier de diverse studentenbanen die aansluiten bij je studie, je competenties verbeteren, je cv versterken en een bijdrage leveren aan een tolerantere wereld
A few centuries ago, James asked the following question: does consciousness cause attention to be directed or is consciousness the effect of paying attention? We feel that our consciousness causes some parts of the world to light up, while leaving some other parts in darkness. This is also called 'spotlight of attention'. So it feels like we can focus our attention on something consciously.Numerous theories about attention have been carried out. For example, around 1950, researchers conducted experiments with the dichotic listening task. In such an experiment, someone gets to hear different messages in both ears. It is the intention that someone only pays attention to the messages that come into one ear. The result of this experiment was that what comes into the other ear is perceived unconsciously, even though no attention is paid to it. These kinds of findings led to the ongoing debate about the moment of attention selection: early, close to the sensory level, or only after much processing has taken place.Other theories saw attention as a bottleneck, where pre-conscious sensory filters were needed to decide what should be passed to deeper stages of processing. This perception fits well with the idea that the brain has a limited capacity for detailed processing. There is then parallel processing. There are various ideas today about the relationship between attention and consciousness. Mack states on the basis of 'inattentional blindness' (see section 6) that no conscious perception can exist without attention. Crick, on the other hand, states that consciousness is closely linked to attention.So there are basically two opposing ideas about consciousness 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...
JoHo can really use your help! Check out the various student jobs here that match your studies, improve your competencies, strengthen your CV and contribute to a more tolerant world
The problem of consciousness is related to some of the oldest questions of philosophy: what does the world consist of? Who am I? It relates to the mind-body problem: what is the relationship between the physical and the mental?
Despite the fact that we are learning more and more about the functioning of the brain, consciousness remains a mystery. In the past, they used the term 'élan vital' to explain how non-living things could be made alive. Nowadays this concept is no longer used, since we know that biological processes are responsible for this. Some scientists believe that the same will also happen with the term consciousness. Once we understand how brain processes create a sense of consciousness, then we might not need to use this term anymore.
Consciousness requires some sort of dualism: objectivity vs. subjectivity, inner vs. outer, mind vs. body...
For example: Take a pencil in your hand and look at it. You see the pencil from your own unique perspective, which you cannot share with others. The pencil is part of the outside world, your experience with the pencil is part of your inner world.
The way philosophers view the consciousness problem can generally be divided into monist theories, which suggest that there are one kind of things in the world, and dualist theories, which suggest that there are two kinds of things. Some theories state that the mental world is fundamental and some theories state that the physical world is fundamental.
Monistic theories assume that the world consists of only one kind of matter (body or mind). Some monistic theories state that everything consists of the mind, according to these theories we only have ideas and perceptions of a pencil. We do not know if a pencil really exists. People who assume this are called mentalists or idealists. Berkeley supported this principle. The disadvantage of this perspective is that we can never know for certain whether objects with fixed characteristics exist.
Materialists are also monists. They believe that there is only matter. An example for this is the identity theory, which states that mental experiences are the same as physical experiences. Another example is functionalism, which assumes that mental experiences are the same as functional experiences.
Epiphenomenalism assumes that physical processes cause mental events, but that mental events have no effect on physical events. Huxley was a supporter of this idea. He did not deny that consciousness or subjective experiences existed, but stated that they have no (causal) connection with physical processes. He used
.......read moreJoHo kan jouw hulp goed gebruiken! Check hier de diverse studentenbanen die aansluiten bij je studie, je competenties verbeteren, je cv versterken en een bijdrage leveren aan een tolerantere wereld
There are several ways to navigate the large amount of summaries, study notes en practice exams on JoHo WorldSupporter.
Do you want to share your summaries with JoHo WorldSupporter and its visitors?
Field of study
Add new contribution