Abstract The main point of this paper is that consciousness is not something that is specific to human beings; but that man is likely the only species that truly does not understand the depth and intensity that animals possess in their special consciousness. It analyzes various ways in which man acts towards animals that shows how insensitive we are to other living creatures' consciousness - they are used for experiments, as a food source, in labor, etc. The paper argues humanity has taken advantage of the animal kingdom, while at the same time given nothing back in return with regard to a level of appreciation for nonhuman sentience. It examines research in the field which proves that animals do have definite levels of consciousness and different animal species are compared to each other to determine their level.
From the Paper "What is consciousness if not the awareness that one exists and, therefore, acts upon that knowledge as a means by which to maintain survival? Just because animals do not outwardly possess the prerequisites of consciousness set down by man's definition does not mean they do not exhibit their own consciousness in various other -- and significantly more elusive -- ways. When science has taken to task the issue of animal consciousness, it has typically pitted several species against one another as a means by which to establish some semblance of conscious behavior. Results from these types of research methods have consistently demonstrated a considerable divergence between and among species residing at varying rungs upon both the evolutionary and supraliminal ladders."
Abstract This paper focuses on Starhawk's philosophy that language shapes consciousness and consciousness shapes reality. Within the paper it is shown that Starhawk's belief is that language can have a deciding factor on a person's perception of themselves, and through this perception they develop concepts of reality in their consciousness. Therefore, this perception then shapes their reality.
From the Paper "Reality, according to Starhawks, is a state in which we must find definition. It is how we define reality within our consciousness that ultimately determines the type of power that will control our lives. As individuals, what we perceive to be real will be. What we believe to be true will happen. The key to discovering a harmony in life is to come to the realization that people do have a final say in how their lives will be lived, and through the consciousness every individual can make that choice. To understand how this is possible the individual must first comprehend that there are powers in the world. Starhawks contends that there is the "power-over" which is any power that comes from outside of the individual that is controlling."
Abstract This essay looks at two works that attempt to deal with the problem of consciousness. These works are "Minds, Brains, and Programs" by John R. Searle and "Facing up to the Problem of Consciousness" by David J. Chalmers. The writer points out that there are many similarities between these works. However, there are also a wide range of differences. It is argued in this essay that Chalmers provides the better explanation for consciousness. The writer maintains that this is because he uses a non-reductive method to try and explain the nature of consciousness based on the idea that experience is a fundamental.
From the Paper "Consciousness is one of the most problematic concepts in philosophy, psychology, neurobiology and a wide range of other disciplines."
Abstract This paper discusses the traces of Sidney's self-consciousness in "Astrophil and Stella" and the tension between his insistence on sincerity and his use of rhetorical and poetic figures. It then looks at Sidney's growing awareness and anxiety about poetry's capacity to persuade and manipulate and links this to the relationship between poetry and violence in Shakespeare's "The Rape of Lucrece".
From the Paper "Given his status as prominent courtier and self-styled defender of poetry, it is hardly surprising that artistic self-consciousness is so prominent in the work of Philip Sidney, particularly in the sonnet series Astrophil and Stella. Throughout the series, Sidney seems determined to prove the worth of English as a poetic language capable of revitalising tired poetic conventions, and his self-conscious attention to style can be seen simply as the manifestation of this aim. However, in exploring poetry's nature both as a means of expression and a force particularly suited to teach and delight, Sidney also acknowledges its darker side, its potential as a vehicle for self-deception and manipulation. This too is illustrated in Astrophil and Stella, through Astrophil's decline into self-deluding attempts to make reality cohere with poetic vision and to shape himself into a courtly lover. The failure of such attempts amounts to an acknowledgement of the slippery relationship between poetry, self-fashioning and delusion, and Astrophil becomes an image of the poet simultaneously inspired and paralysed by an awareness of this relationship."
Abstract In this article, the writer studies how certain major events in life can effect national consciousness. The writer chooses particular events and discusses their effect on the people. In this paper, the writer uses as examples events such as Pearl Harbor, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr, and 9/11.
From the Paper "It is often said that we do not truly appreciate what we have until it is taken from us. Loss and tragedy certainly have the power to change the way that we view ourselves and the world around us. Sometimes these events trigger a sense of fear and panic as we view our surroundings with an eye awakened to danger and true peril. But sometimes, if we are fortunate, it is in the darkest of hours that we are truly made aware of the strength and courage of ... "
Tags: tragedy, national consciousness, september 11, assassination, patriotism
Abstract This paper explores the philosophy of consciousness and how it is understood through reductive and non-reductive strategies. The concepts discussed include eliminativism, dualism, physicalism and materialism, behavior, folk psychology and the belief-desire thesis. The philosophers mentioned include Descartes, Stich, Place, Jaegwon Kim and the Churchlands.
From the Paper "Reductive & Non-Reductive Perspectives on Consciousness: There are many theories that attempt to explain and model human consciousness, some of which focus on biology, others on psychology and there are others as well. The "belief-desire thesis" is a form of "folk psychology" that says the brain can only desire something that we believe is possible or true, whether we are conscious of that belief or not and that our beliefs and desires are based on our experiences of actual tangible sensations (Stich 4)."
Abstract The paper reviews the book "The Illusion of the Conscious Will", where Daniel Wegner brings into question whether or not human beings exercise free will. The paper outlines Wegner's main arguments and highlights how they are based on a series of assumptions. The paper asserts that in order for this work to become an important part of the academic world, Wegner's experiments and research would have to incorporate techniques to prove many of his empirical theories.
From the Paper "What Wegner argues for is the fact that the conscious mind is an illusion and he does so by presenting a number of different ideas that attack the idea that we make individual decisions based on logic, rather than determinism. One of the ideas that he attacks is the idea of a metaphysically free will. This idea has been around for centuries, and many different philosophers throughout history have presented this idea in different forms. Basically it means that we are free to make our own decisions and we do so based on what we have learned from our past experiences. The problem is that Wegner does not come up with his own philosophical ideal for this, but rather just bases his argument on a series of assumptions."
Abstract This paper attempts to answer the question ?what are the various concepts the term ?consciousness? picks out?? It outlines six different notions of consciousness, self-consciousness, minimal consciousness, perceptual consciousness, phenomenal consciousness, access consciousness and higher order consciousness and shows why they are not equivalent. It examines how every one of these concepts of consciousness is problematic in that they have all alluded a complete scientific explanation and how phenomenal consciousness and perceptual consciousness are more likely to allude scientific analysis than the others.
From the Paper "Matters are different, however, when it comes to phenomenal consciousness (and therefore perceptual consciousness, for remember that perceptually conscious mental states are a subset of the phenomenally conscious ones). To be sure, phenomenally conscious mental states can and do represent the world and play an important role in producing behavior. That's why so many mental states are both phenomenally conscious and access conscious. But an explanation of the functional role phenomenally conscious states play in can never be a complete explanation of those states. For such an explanation will inevitably leave something out of the picture. What will it leave out? An explanation of the subjective quality of the experience?something that can differ from individual to individual."
Abstract After defining 'consciousness' in this paper, the author shows that the very fact that we all have privileged access to our consciousness and cannot analyze it from an outsider's point-of-view is a major reason why consciousness remains so mysterious. In addition, he puts forward his view that inevitably, a scientific explanation of consciousness will be possible.
From the Paper "It is very hard to find an analogy to describe consciousness. We know nothing in the scientific world that draws a parallel with it. Consciousness is unable to be measured or analysed because at present we know of no connection between itself and the physical body, even if there happens to be a portion of the brain where consciousness is localised. We all experience privileged access to our own consciousness, yet how can we determine for sure that other people and creatures are also conscious beings when there is no sure-fire way to prove this? How do chemical reactions and neural processes in the body trigger conscious events? This is what makes consciousness so mysterious. We take it for granted and all regard ourselves as conscious beings, yet very rarely do we actually stop to think about what it is and how it came to be."
Abstract This paper attempts to define the phenomena of consciousness. It studies the claims of scientists like John Searle, that there is a reductive, scientifically explainable process that results in consciousness. It discusses how philosophers like David Chalmers criticize the reductive explanation and how Chalmers argues for a more nuanced, dualistic view, one that recognizes the phenomenon's more subjective and qualitative aspects.
Outline
Definitions of Consciousness Is Consciousness Scientifically Explainable
The Limits of Scientific Explanation
Chalmers? Naturalist Dualism
Evaluation of the Scientific Model and Chalmers? Critiques
Conclusion
From the Paper "The advent of computer technology and artificial intelligence has led to a refinement of the mind-body problem. A more accurate term would be the mind-brain relationship, as scientists are identifying the mind with the brain. The biochemical and biophysical findings continue to shed more light on mental actions and conscious thought. Many scientists now believe that brain processes are themselves mental processes, and that a scientific understanding of consciousness and other mental phenomenon rests on a greater understanding of the brain itself."
Abstract The paper defines the word consciousness and questions whether chimpanzees and other apes do indeed possess all three traits that make up consciousness as we know it: language, self-awareness, and theory of mind. The paper gives examples from animal communication research which show that they perhaps do possess these traits. It then looks at the critics of this theory who claim that the difference between the human and ape consciousness is vast and that apes cannot really claim to possess language, self-awareness and a theory of mind skills.
From the Paper "One of the original researchers using sign language with apes, Herb Terrace is now a critic. Terrace placed a chimpanzee named Nim in a community of people using sign language to see if he would pick up the language, but found that only by bribing him with treats did he learn (Wynne 52). Terrace realized that Nim was simply using signs that his trainers had used in their question, so in effect he was just echoing what had been said (Wynne 52). Regarding Washoe's description of a swan as ?waterbird,? it is noted that perhaps she was simply naming two things she saw, water and bird. As far as Kanzi's ability to pick up symbolic language from observation of her mother's training, it must be noted that Kanzi was rewarded for her use of symbols and usually given the things that she named (Wynne 52)."
Abstract This paper examines how the term "consciousness" has come to mean several different aspects of human functioning. It explains why, though all these aspects are related to each other in different ways, it is important for any theoretical understanding of consciousness to distinguish the different aspects to which we apply the concept of consciousness.
From the Paper "The most common and perhaps the oldest concept of consciousness refer to "all sentient creatures, humans and other, as being awake and receptive to sensory output". This is the simplest and least problematic aspect of consciousness because it simply refers to a person or other creature being aware of the world around him and is contrasted from being asleep, knocked out or unable in anyway to respond to the sensory world. A second notion of consciousness refers to a condition when a human or any other creature is aware of something, this notion of consciousness is said to have quality of reflecting or thinking. A person is conscious that something being present and something is the case when that person has a thought that it is the case. A third notion of consciousness does not apply to people or creature but to the mental states, as sensing, perceiving, thinking, desiring and feelings."
This paper looks at the aspects of moral and social consciousness in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper".
Abstract In this article, the writer introduces, discusses and analyzes the works "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Specifically, the paper discusses moral and social consciousness in service to others in the two stories. The writer notes that both of these stories raise issues of moral and social consciousness, and make the reader more aware of how society viewed and treated women during the Victorian Age. The writer points out that the characters in both stories must conquer obstacles and fight for what they believe is right, even if it goes against the culture and belief systems of the time. In conclusion, these two stories indicate how important moral and social consciousness is in our society, and how it can be a great service to others in trouble or in need.
From the Paper "Nora may never return to the family, and she will face many obstacles attempting to make a living on her own at a time when few middle- or upper-class women worked outside the home."
"Both women fought for what they knew was right at a time when women were literally kept behind closed doors for most of the time. Both women could see the wrongs and injustices in society, and both knew there had to be more for them somewhere else. The narrator pays the highest cost because she gives up her sanity and her family, and she faces the greatest obstacles to a normal life. It is interesting that the male author (Ibsen) creates a character that seems irrational in her decision to leave, while the female author creates a character that is quite sympathetic even as madness creeps up on her. This indicates just how different male and female views were at the time. Both women fought and spoke out about wrongs, but they were viewed differently even by their own authors."
Abstract One of the most interesting areas of scientific research these days is the brain. This paper discusses the important cerebral functions of memory storage and development of reality and consciousness. It shows how the brain is capable of storing past events in one of its several compartments, but it has to be done efficiently or else past events would encroach upon recent ones thus blurring the boundaries between conscious and unconscious worlds.
From the Paper "But while man does need to be able to recall past events, it is equally important for him to be able to separate past from present. For this he needs to know what reality is and where he is today and now. This may appear rather puzzling to someone who has just undertaken the study of brain, but it is nonetheless worth pondering. How does man know who he is and what reality actually is? In other words, in order to qualify as a normal rational human being, man needs to be able to separate conscious reality from the unconscious. But consciousness is not something tangible, it is one of those cerebral functions that cannot be explained in concert terms."
Abstract This paper explores the way in which the term 'consciousness' has been used by philosophers and scientists alike, throughout the ages. It ranges from definitions of Descartes in the 17th century and John Locke. It then moves to the scientific approach and focuses on an experiment with apes in which the consciousness of animals was compared with that of humans.
From the Paper "At Cornell University, Edward Bradford Titchener, an American psychologist, developed the introspective approach. Introspective self-reports helped to detail his structure of the mind from which he developed a structuralism approach to consciousness. For example, Ataste was >dimensionalized= into four basic categories: sweet, sour, salt and bitter (p.2). By the 1920's consciousness was removed from psychological research for 50 years when behaviorism captured the field of psychology. By the late 1950's the subject of consciousness returned. ATechniques relating to altered states of consciousness, sleep and dreams, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis and drug-induced states surfaced (p.2)."
