The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness

Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 5
Contents......Page 7
List of Figures and Tables......Page 11
Notes on Contributors......Page 13
Introduction......Page 21
The Scope of the Volume......Page 22
Acknowledgements and Caveats......Page 25
References......Page 26
Part I: Problems of Consciousness......Page 27
The Origin of Consciousness Studies: René Descartes......Page 29
After Descartes......Page 30
Helmholtz’s unconscious inferences......Page 31
Early progress in physiology and psychology......Page 32
Psycho-physical processes in attention......Page 33
Developments in the Early Twentieth Century......Page 34
The cognitive unconscious......Page 35
The Current State of Consciousness Research......Page 37
Scientific Questions......Page 39
References......Page 40
2 Philosophical Problems of Consciousness......Page 43
The Problem of Ownership......Page 44
The Problem of Perspectival Subjectivity......Page 45
The Problem of Mechanism......Page 46
The Problem of Duplicates......Page 47
The Problem of the Inverted Spectrum......Page 49
The Problem of Transparency......Page 50
The Problem of Unity......Page 51
The Problem of Divided Consciousness......Page 53
References......Page 54
Part II: The Domain of Consciousness......Page 57
Origins and Extent of Consciousness......Page 59
Primary Human Consciousness: Its Natural Origins and Growth in Human Company......Page 61
How Can Infant Consciousness Be Proved?......Page 62
Infant Consciousness Is Active, Emotional, and Communicative......Page 63
Innate Rhythms of the Infant Mind, and Their Importance in Communication and the Development of Consciousness......Page 64
Newborn Consciousness (Figure 3.1)......Page 65
The “Musicality” of Protoconversation at 2 Months......Page 66
From 6 Weeks to 6 Months: Tightening up Movements and Sharpening Awareness; Exploring and Using Things......Page 67
Sharing Routines and Rituals: Performing “Musically,” and Showing Off a Personality (Figure 3.2)......Page 68
From 9 to 18 Months: Making Sense of a Human-Made World (Figures 3.4 and 3.5)......Page 70
Consciousness Before Birth?......Page 72
Coda: If Consciousness Is a Naturally Developing Function of Animal Life, Why Then Do Philosophers and Psychologists Have Problems with It?......Page 74
References......Page 75
Concepts of Consciousness......Page 78
Self-Consciousness......Page 79
Phenomenal Consciousness: Basic Questions – Epistemological and Ontological......Page 80
Nonreductive accounts......Page 81
Reductive accounts......Page 82
Limits of Ontology......Page 83
Dissimilarity arguments......Page 84
Similarity arguments......Page 85
Inference to the Best Explanation......Page 86
Broader Implications......Page 88
References......Page 89
Introduction......Page 92
Natural History, Adaptation, and Just-So Stories......Page 93
Questions About the Natural History of Consciousness......Page 95
Consciousness and the Complexity Argument......Page 100
Just-So Stories and Beyond......Page 102
Conclusion......Page 104
References......Page 105
Introduction......Page 107
Criteria for a Conscious Machine......Page 108
A Spectrum and a Paradigm......Page 109
Franklin’s IDA System......Page 111
Consciousness in Virtual Machines......Page 112
Cognitive Neural Architectures......Page 113
At the Physicalist End of the Spectrum......Page 114
A Depictive Model......Page 115
Further Readings......Page 117
References......Page 118
Some Varieties of Conscious Experience......Page 119
Definition and Components of Consciousness......Page 121
Conscious state paradigm......Page 122
The Sleep–Waking Cycle......Page 123
REM sleep......Page 124
The Neurophysiology of Sleep with Special Reference to Consciousness......Page 127
A Four-Dimensional Model of Conscious State......Page 128
Brain imaging......Page 130
Temporal lobe epilepsy and “dreamy states”......Page 131
Further Readings......Page 132
References......Page 133
Evolution of Affective and Cognitive Processes......Page 134
Neuro-conceptual Distinctions between Affective and Cognitive Variants of Consciousness......Page 137
Computational vs. non-computational forms of consciousness......Page 138
Emotional action-to-perception processes vs. cognitive perception-to-action processes......Page 139
Sub-neocortical vs. neocortical locus of control......Page 140
Evidence from localized electrical stimulation of the brain......Page 141
Evidence from human brain imaging......Page 142
Summary of Emotional Systems......Page 143
Pervasive Cognition–Emotion Interactions......Page 146
References......Page 148
Defining Psychopathological States......Page 150
Common Psychological Conditions......Page 151
The Psychoses......Page 152
Hallucinations......Page 154
Delusional beliefs......Page 156
References......Page 158
Surgical Anesthesia......Page 161
Sedatives, Anxiolytics and Hypnotics......Page 162
Antipsychotics......Page 163
Psychostimulants......Page 164
Cholinergic Agents......Page 165
Recreational Drugs......Page 166
Recreational Sedatives: Alcohol, Tranquilizers, and Opiates......Page 167
Drug Craving......Page 168
Psychedelic Drugs......Page 169
Conclusions......Page 170
References......Page 171
Ideational meditation......Page 174
Nonideational meditation......Page 175
Overlap between the two forms of meditation......Page 176
Tranquillity......Page 177
Insight......Page 178
Relationship Between Meditation and Mysticism......Page 179
References......Page 181
The Nature of Mystical Experience......Page 183
Transcendent mysticism......Page 184
Immanent mysticism......Page 185
Similarities between transcendent and immanent mysticism......Page 186
Levels or Stages in Mystical Experience......Page 187
Mysticism and the Brain......Page 190
References......Page 191
Breakdowns and the Unity of Consciousness......Page 193
13 The Case of Blindsight......Page 195
References......Page 199
Bilateral representation of fundamental sensory information......Page 201
Limited access to the knowledge of the opposite hemisphere......Page 202
States of co-consciousness......Page 203
Differing interpretations: the impact of hemispheric asymmetries......Page 204
Accessing and understanding the conscious experiences of the two hemispheres......Page 205
Examining the Corpus Callosum’s Contribution to Unified Subjective Experience......Page 206
Explaining Unified Conscious Experience in the Split Brain......Page 207
The bicameral mind argument......Page 208
Toward an Understanding of the Neural Bases of Consciousness......Page 209
Further Readings......Page 211
References......Page 212
Introduction......Page 214
My Body, My Mind......Page 215
Searching for Real Cases of Misidentification......Page 216
Multiple Personality Disorder and Self-Consciousness......Page 217
A Case of Alienated Self-Consciousness......Page 219
Thought Insertion......Page 220
Trying to Resolve the Interpretative Puzzle......Page 223
Interpretation and Explanation......Page 224
Further Readings......Page 226
References......Page 227
An Elusive Query......Page 229
Ownership and awareness......Page 231
Phenomenal space......Page 234
Primitive connections......Page 235
Subsumption and singularity......Page 236
Diachronic unity......Page 238
A Branching of the Ways......Page 239
References......Page 241
Part III: Some Contemporary Theories of Consciousness......Page 243
The Easy Problems and the Hard Problem......Page 245
Functional Explanation......Page 247
Some Case Studies......Page 249
The Extra Ingredient......Page 252
References......Page 254
Introduction......Page 256
Brain evidence for vast capacity of unconscious processes......Page 258
Autobiographical memory......Page 259
Global Access: an Answer to the Puzzle of Limited Capacity?......Page 260
Global Workspace Theory and Specific GW Models......Page 261
Gaps and Limits in Current Work......Page 262
Critiques of globalist approaches......Page 263
References......Page 265
19 The Intermediate Level Theory of Consciousness......Page 267
Vision......Page 268
Beyond vision......Page 271
Why the intermediate level?......Page 272
Objections......Page 274
References......Page 278
The Way of Ideas......Page 281
Representation to the Rescue......Page 282
The Exhaustion Thesis......Page 283
Wide vs. Narrow Representationalism......Page 285
Relational and Projectivist Approaches to the Exhaustion Thesis......Page 286
Transparent Experience......Page 288
The Demarcation Problem......Page 289
Introspective Minds......Page 292
Further Readings......Page 293
References......Page 294
Higher-Order Theories Explained and Contrasted with First-Order Ones......Page 297
Inner-Sense Theory......Page 299
Actualist Higher-Order Thought Theory......Page 301
Dispositionalist Higher-Order Thought Theory......Page 302
References......Page 305
Hard Problems and Hard Facts: Consciousness and Neuroscience......Page 307
Information......Page 308
Integration......Page 309
Measuring Information Integration: The Φ of a Complex......Page 310
Information Integration and the Brain: Accounting for Neurobiological Facts......Page 312
The Information Integration Theory and Other Neurobiological Frameworks......Page 316
References......Page 318
Introduction......Page 320
Problems of Interpretation......Page 321
The Copenhagen Interpretation......Page 322
Conscious choices......Page 323
Von Neumann’s move......Page 324
Interactive Dualism......Page 325
Comparison to Psychological Findings......Page 327
Application in Neuroscience......Page 328
The Penrose-Hamerof theory......Page 329
The Eccles-Beck approach......Page 330
References......Page 331
Dennett’s Critique of the Cartesian Theater Model......Page 333
Some Further Features of Dennett’s Views on Consciousness......Page 340
References......Page 343
Biological Naturalism as Scientifically Sophisticated Common Sense......Page 345
Objections to Biological Naturalism from the Point of View of the Philosophical Tradition......Page 349
References......Page 354
26 Mysterianism......Page 355
The Intuition......Page 356
Can We Solve the Mind–Body Problem?......Page 357
Later Developments......Page 358
Consciousness and Space......Page 359
The Limits of Human Knowledge......Page 360
Objections to McGinn’s Mysterianism......Page 361
References......Page 365
The Dualist View......Page 366
The Reductionist View......Page 367
Reflexive Monism......Page 369
How Phenomenal Objects Relate to Real Objects......Page 370
How phenomenal space relates to real space......Page 372
Why This Matters......Page 374
Is the Brain in the World or the World in the Brain?......Page 375
Paradigm crunch......Page 377
References......Page 378
Nonreductive Explanation......Page 379
Outline of a Theory of Consciousness......Page 381
The Principle of Structural Coherence......Page 382
The Principle of Organizational Invariance......Page 384
The Double-Aspect Theory of Information......Page 385
Conclusion......Page 387
References......Page 388
Part IV: Some Major Topics in the Philosophy of Consciousness......Page 389
Two Forms of Anti-materialism......Page 391
Objections to the Central State Identity Theory and Functionalism......Page 392
The Conceivability Argument......Page 393
The Knowledge Argument......Page 395
The Explanatory Gap......Page 396
Replies......Page 397
Conclusion......Page 399
References......Page 400
30 Functionalism and Qualia......Page 401
Varieties of Functionalism......Page 402
Views of Qualia......Page 405
Anti-functionalist Arguments......Page 408
References......Page 414
Introduction......Page 416
The Knowledge Intuition and the Inference to Physicalism’s Falsity......Page 417
Related Arguments......Page 418
More Physicalist Responses......Page 419
Other Responses......Page 421
Summary of Assumptions and Criticisms......Page 422
References......Page 424
32 The Causal Efficacy of Consciousness......Page 426
Huxley’s Epiphenomenalism......Page 427
Scientific Considerations: Methodological Epiphenomenalism......Page 428
Philosophical Problems of Mental Causation......Page 430
Mental Causation and Mind–Body Reduction......Page 431
Functionalization of Mental Properties......Page 434
Saving What’s Important about Phenomenal Consciousness......Page 436
References......Page 437
33 The Neurophilosophy of Consciousness......Page 438
Neuroscience and Visual Consciousness......Page 440
Neurophilosophical Theories of Consciousness......Page 443
References......Page 449
34 Type Materialism for Phenomenal Consciousness......Page 451
References......Page 463
Sensation and Perception......Page 465
Implicit Perception......Page 466
Phenomenal Properties......Page 468
What It’s Like vs. How It Appears......Page 470
How It Feels vs. How It Appears......Page 471
Qualia circa 1929......Page 472
Qualia Kicked Upstairs......Page 473
Further Readings......Page 474
References......Page 475
The Problems of Self-Consciousness......Page 476
Self-Consciousness and the Metaphysics of the Self......Page 477
Direct Awareness and Propositional Awareness......Page 478
Immunity to Error through Misidentification......Page 480
The Scope of Self-Consciousness......Page 481
Consciousness of the Self and Consciousness of the World......Page 483
Self-Consciousness and the Cognitive Sciences......Page 484
References......Page 486
Introduction......Page 488
Inseparatism Described and Refined......Page 490
Two Implications of Thesis C-Ins......Page 493
Set Two. Identity of content......Page 495
Nonconscious Mental States: Three Alternative Positions......Page 497
Nonconscious intentional mental states as impossible......Page 498
Nonconscious intentional mental states as suitably causally integrated......Page 499
An Epistemic Gap Counter-Argument against C-Ins......Page 500
References......Page 502
Part V: Major Topics in the Science of Consciousness......Page 505
Topics in the Cognitive Psychology of Consciousness......Page 507
Attention and Consciousness......Page 509
Assessment of the Role of Attention in Conscious Perception: Direct vs. Indirect Measures......Page 510
The Early and Late Selection Debate: Direct Measures......Page 511
The Early and Late Selection Debate: Indirect Measures......Page 515
A Resolution of the Debate in Terms of the Distinction between Direct and Indirect Measures?......Page 516
Resolution of the Early and Late Selection Debate within Perceptual Load Theory......Page 517
The Role of Perceptual Load in “Inattentional Blindness”......Page 518
The Role of Attention in Determining Awareness of Change or “Change Blindness”......Page 519
References......Page 522
A First Approach: There Are No Representations......Page 524
Problems with the “No Representations” Approach......Page 525
A Second Approach: The New Skepticism......Page 527
Problems with the New Skepticism......Page 528
Toward a New Approach......Page 529
References......Page 530
Measuring Awareness......Page 532
Validating Measures of Awareness......Page 533
Subjective vs. Behavioral Measures of Awareness......Page 534
Variations in Stimulus Conditions......Page 536
Variations in the Distribution of Attention......Page 537
Neurological and Surgical Patients......Page 538
Current Issues......Page 540
References......Page 543
Principles of Conscious Recollection......Page 545
Taxonomy of Memory and Knowledge......Page 546
Priming Effects in Amnesia and Normal Memory......Page 547
The Vocabulary of Implicit Memory......Page 548
Theories of Implicit Memory......Page 549
Testing the Theories......Page 551
Interactions Between Explicit and Implicit Memory......Page 552
Explicit and Implicit Learning......Page 553
Implicit Learning......Page 554
What is Learned in Implicit Learning?......Page 555
Is Implicit Learning Really Unconscious?......Page 556
References......Page 557
Introduction......Page 560
Automatic vs. controlled actions......Page 561
Lack of awareness of automatic actions......Page 562
A neurophysiological model for action recognition......Page 563
Reaching nonconsciously for conscious goals......Page 566
The illusion of being a conscious agent......Page 568
References......Page 569
Topics in the Neuroscience of Consciousness......Page 571
Behavioral Correlates of Unconscious Processing......Page 573
Neural Correlates of Conscious Processing......Page 574
Stimuli close to threshold......Page 575
Ambiguous stimuli......Page 576
Modifying the contents of consciousness......Page 577
Imagination......Page 578
Parametric tracking of variations in consciousness......Page 579
Is V1 necessary?......Page 580
The concept of an essential node......Page 581
What next?......Page 582
References......Page 583
44 A Neurobiological Framework for Consciousness......Page 587
Zombie Modes and Consciousness......Page 589
Explicit Representations and Essential Nodes......Page 590
Driving and Modulating Connections......Page 591
Snapshots......Page 592
Attention and Binding......Page 593
Styles of Firing......Page 594
Related Ideas......Page 595
General Remarks......Page 596
References......Page 597
The Functional Specialization of the Visual Brain......Page 600
Processing Sites in the Visual Brain Are also Perceptual Sites......Page 601
Perceptual Asynchrony and Temporal Hierarchies in Visual Perception......Page 603
The Distribution of Micro-consciousnesses in Space and Time......Page 604
Three Levels of Hierarchy in Consciousness......Page 605
The Autonomy of the Processing-Perceptual Systems......Page 606
References......Page 607
Overview......Page 609
Patterns of Cerebral Injuries Underlying Global Disorders of Consciousness......Page 610
Contribution of Brainstem Arousal Systems and Meso-diencephalic “Gating” Systems to Conscious State and Goal-Directed Behaviors......Page 613
Neurophysiological Characterization of Brain Function in Disorders of Consciousness......Page 617
Modularity in the Vegetative State......Page 618
Brain Function in the Minimally Conscious State......Page 620
Conclusions......Page 621
References......Page 622
47 Large-Scale Temporal Coordination of Cortical Activity as a Prerequisite for Conscious Experience......Page 625
Two Representational Strategies......Page 626
The Signature of Distributed Codes......Page 628
Experimental Evidence for Grouping by Synchrony......Page 629
Conscious Perception......Page 630
The Generality of Synchronicity......Page 631
Conclusion......Page 632
References......Page 633
Introduction......Page 636
Two Visual Pathways in the Cerebral Cortex......Page 637
Neurological Evidence......Page 639
Evidence from Visual Illusions......Page 643
Biological Tele-assistance......Page 644
Consciousness and the Two Streams......Page 645
References......Page 646
The Evolution of General Anesthesia......Page 648
Mechanisms of Anesthesia......Page 650
Anesthesia and Awareness......Page 651
Unconscious Processing during Anesthesia......Page 654
The Limits of Implicit Memory in Anesthesia......Page 656
References......Page 658
Neural Dominance vs. Neural Deference......Page 660
Dominance: phantom limbs and colored-hearing synesthesia......Page 661
Examples of deference: Braille reading, TVSS, and color adaptation......Page 663
Explaining Dominance vs. Deference......Page 665
Dominance in Synesthesia......Page 669
Further Readings......Page 673
References......Page 674
Introduction......Page 677
Controversial Issues about Libet’s Experiments......Page 678
A  Does Libet’s finding that RPs begin before consciousness of the decision to make the movement stand up methodologically?......Page 679
B  Are the movements studied legitimate examples of “free will”?......Page 682
C  What are the subjects reporting when they say they decided to move and how does this relate to neural events?......Page 683
RP vs. LRP as Precursor of the Conscious Decision......Page 684
How Do Libet’s Findings Affect Philosophical Positions on Freedom of the Will?......Page 685
Further Readings......Page 687
References......Page 688
First-Person Contributions to the Science of Consciousness......Page 691
52 Cognition, Fringe Consciousness, and the Legacy of William James......Page 693
The fringe: elusive, but at the heart of consciousness and cognition......Page 695
Imminence, continuity and the stream of consciousness......Page 697
Implicit and meta-cognition, feeling-of-knowing, intuition......Page 698
Modern Extensions of James’s Fringe......Page 699
Why is the fringe elusive?......Page 700
Finessing articulation limits......Page 701
Velmans’s critique......Page 703
References......Page 704
53 Phenomenological Approaches to Consciousness......Page 706
The Intentionality of Consciousness......Page 707
Temporal Structure of Consciousness......Page 709
Self-Awareness......Page 711
Embodied Consciousness......Page 714
References......Page 715
The Need for Systematic First-Person Methodologies......Page 717
Interpreting the Research – Two Common Mistakes......Page 718
Levels of Awareness......Page 719
Pure Consciousness......Page 720
Philosophical Objections to the Idea of “Pure Consciousness”......Page 721
Absolutely Contentless?......Page 722
Two Applications in the Field of Adult Development......Page 723
Investigating Consciousness from Within......Page 724
Changing the Observer......Page 725
Sample Applications......Page 726
Conclusion......Page 728
References......Page 729
The Investigation of Conscious Experiences......Page 731
Common Assumptions about How Physical Phenomena Relate to Psychological Phenomena......Page 732
When an Experimenter Is also a Subject......Page 734
The Sense in which All Experienced Phenomena Are Private and Subjective......Page 735
Public in the Sense of Similar Private Experiences......Page 736
The Quest for Objectivity......Page 737
Intra-subjective and Inter-subjective Repeatability......Page 738
Consequences of the Above Analysis for a Science of Consciousness......Page 739
How Methods Used to Study Consciousness Differ from Methods Used in Physics......Page 740
Symmetries and Asymmetries of Access......Page 741
Critical Realism......Page 742
Critical Phenomenology......Page 743
References......Page 744
List of Useful Web Resources in Consciousness Studies......Page 747
Name Index......Page 749
Subject Index......Page 755