From the philosophical point of view, consciousness can be considered quite wild. Our experience of the things like shooting pain or encountering intense color is quite different in its mechanism from processing information that is structured. This conclusion is the result of studies of empirical nature where scientists looked at cognitive functions of our brain under different stimuli. In addition to being wild, consciousness can be compelling at times and can trigger an experience that we go through with full intensity.
Key Takeaways:
- Consciousness can be compelling and immediate, focusing our attention or even taking over our whole body.
- Higher-order theories are related to the awareness of the representation an object, while first-order theories are more immediate.
- Subsumption is something distinct from access consciousness, which is associated with the structure of predicates.
“Consciousness is wild. More precisely, what philosophers call phenomenal consciousness — or ‘what it is like’ to experience something, such as the sharp painfulness of a pain or the intense blueness of a blue cup — seems to be independent and completely different from the structured information processing in the brain and nervous system.”
References:
- Psychology Today (Website)
- Academic Success Center at Texas A&M University (YouTube Channel)
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