A call for an open, informed study of all aspects of consciousness (original) (raw)
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Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, 1994
Prolegomena to Empirical Psychology and Rational Psychology. The former book was originally published in 1732 and the latter in 1734. Wolff's contribution was to relate the method of studying psychology to that of physics. He sought to establish laws of sensation, memory, emotion, understanding, and behavior. Johann Friederich Herbart further developed Wolff's measuring methods, and Wilhelm Wundt, who considered Wolff "the most influential psychological systematist among moderns," used Wolff's ideas to develop his psychophysics.
Front. Hum. Neurosci., 27 January 2014
Science thrives when there is an open, informed discussion of all evidence, and recognition that scientific knowledge is provisional and subject to revision. This attitude is in stark contrast with reaching conclusions based solely on a previous set of beliefs or on the assertions of authority figures. Dismissing empirical observations apriori, based solely on biases or theoretical assumptions, underlies a distrust of the ability of the scientific process to discuss and evaluate evidence on its own merits. The undersigned differ in the extent to which we are convinced that the case for psi phenomena has already been made, but not in our view of science as a nondogmatic, open, critical but respectful process that requires thorough consideration of all evidence as well as skepticism toward both the assumptions we already hold and those that challenge them.
Consciousness: Theoretical Approaches
In A.E. Cavanna, A. Nani, H. Blumenfeld & S. Laureys (Eds) The Neuroimaging of Consciousness, 2013
This chapter reviews some of the central theoretical challenges confronting the search for the brain basis of consciousness and develops a conceptual framework for tackling these challenges. At the heart of the search for the neural basis of consciousness is the notion of a neural correlate of consciousness. Identifying the neural correlates of consciousness requires that we acknowledge the various aspects of consciousness, for each of the aspects of consciousness raises its own set of methodological challenges. We examine the question of whether an account of the neural correlates of consciousness can be used to ascribe consciousness to creatures that lack the capacity to report their experiences, and we ask whether it is possible to go beyond the neural correlates of consciousness by providing neurally-based explanations of consciousness.
Consciousness science: real progress and lingering misconceptions
Trends in cognitive sciences, 2014
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Consciousness: The last 50 years (and the next)
Brain and Neuroscience Advances, 2018
The mind and brain sciences began with consciousness as a central concern. But for much of the 20th century, ideological and methodological concerns relegated its empirical study to the margins. Since the 1990s, studying consciousness has regained a legitimacy and momentum befitting its status as the primary feature of our mental lives. Nowadays, consciousness science encompasses a rich interdisciplinary mixture drawing together philosophical, theoretical, computational, experimental, and clinical perspectives, with neuroscience its central discipline. Researchers have learned a great deal about the neural mechanisms underlying global states of consciousness, distinctions between conscious and unconscious perception, and self-consciousness. Further progress will depend on specifying closer explanatory mappings between (first-person subjective) phenomenological descriptions and (third-person objective) descriptions of (embodied and embedded) neuronal mechanisms. Such progress will he...
The Science of Consciousness: Where It is and Where It Should be
2007
This excellent book is aptly titled. It presents a closely argued analysis of the current state of consciousness studies and suggests a strategy of investigation, which the author believes is necessary to establish a robust science of consciousness. Before he introduces the details of his framework for a ...