Talk:Consciousness

Consciousness and Mind

This is good as far as it goes. There is considerably more information to be found in the teachings of Buck on Consciousness and Dr. Ernest Holmes on the processes of Mind an Universal Law and how to use it for the Highest Good of Humanity as well as for yourself.

restructure document

I think this document needs a fairly extensive re-edit to usefully work. Consciousness means many things to many people. Its probably would be helpful at a minimum to have the following major subsections within the document: cognitive neurobiological approaches; philsophical approaches; quantum mechanical approaches; spiritual; art and consciousness.

I agree with this comment. Perhaps the following layout:

Introduction

The Nature of Consciousness: Empirical description, Buddhist description, Language and Consciousness

Theories of consciousness: cognitive neurobiological approaches; philosophical approaches; quantum mechanical approaches;

Other: spiritual; art and consciousness.

20/09/04 Placed philosophy of consciousness as first item and included empirical descriptions in this. Even the scientists in this field have different philosophical approaches so it is right, historically and functionally to start with philosophy.

Quantum approaches

Popper wouldnn't let you dismiss these as 'crank' unless you have a better theory to put in their place. Hameroff's website has links to papers that show evidence for a corellation between microtubule activity and anaesthesia (he is a medical doctor who knows his stuff).

20/09/04 Removed "The hypothesis that consciousness relies upon quantum mechanics is a view discounted by all but a tiny number of scientists." This is not an academic statement, its import is covered in the following sentence that no real evidence has been found.

Blakemore

Suggest we remove the Blakemoor link. She is a well-known hanger-on in the consciousness research community, and doesn't appear to have anything new to say that isn't already in Dennett 1991. Just because you have media friends who get you on TV doesn't mean you are any good (see Kevin Warwick).

Incorrigibility

Made reference to the technical philosophical term among philsophers of mind. icut4u 21:08, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Empirical description of consciousness

This was added to provide a reference to the work of the most famous of the philosophers and scientists who are associated with this subject. The quotations were included so that the famous philosophers could speak in their own words, this whole area being so contentious that any other form of presentation would be impossible. The quotations are of a length permitted by 'fair use'. I selected the empirical parts of these philosopher's works because these will always be of interest whereas their musings on various theories of mind may appear old fashioned in the context of modern science. A full discussion of each author would need a fifty page article and be mostly irrelevant to modern interests.

However, some readers may think that the whole piece sits awkwardly in the context of the lighter level of treatment in the rest of the article. I am very loathe to change anyone else's contributions and equally loathe to put the piece in a new article. This issue is in the hands of the editors but any discussion of consciousness must surely make reference to Descartes, Kant, Hume, Locke etc.

Phenomenal Consciousness

I removed the following sentence after the paragraph on deep sleep. I have worked in this area for sometime and never heard of this theory. Does the author have a reference?

"This is a typical situation in which some electroneurobiological researchers see a change in time acuity or the ability to distinguish moments, assumed to arise from relativistic interval-dilation effects at work in brain biophysics."