Consciousness
Descartes
Believed that the Mind and the Brain were
two separate things
The mind is not made of matter, it is akin to the soul or
the spirit
This position became known as Dualism
According to Descartes our ability to think proved our
existence – Cogito Ergo Sum – ‘I think therefore I am’
Likewise the ability to conceive of god must itself
constitute the existence of God
Problems with Cartesian Dualism
Brain damage leads to a change in phenomenology – conscious
experience
Drugs effect conscious experience
Exactly how the mind (non material) interacts with the brain
(material) cannot be demonstrated – magic is not a scientific answer
What is the mind made of?
If we have a Mind why do we need a brain?
Studies show that neural activity precedes conscious awareness of such
activity – your brain ‘thinks’ then you become aware of it!
William James
Consciousness can be likened to a stream
Continuous, Flowing, changing, with many levels
Essays in Radical Empiricism (1912) he set out the
metaphysical view most commonly known as “neutral
monism,” according to which there is one fundamental
“stuff” that is neither material nor mental.
Reality or Pure experience, as he called it comes about
when two bodies or minds interact, and reality is only
accessible in the relations into which they enter
States of Consciousness
Put the folowing states of consciousness in order from most
aware to least aware:
•
Hypnotised
•
Anaesthetised
•
Complete lack of awareness
•
Total awareness
•
Daydreaming
•
Focused attention
•
Asleep
•
Unconscious (coma)
•
Meditative state
•
Normal wakefulness
1. Total awareness
2. Focused attention
3. Normal Wakefulness
4. Daydreaming
5. Meditative State
6. Hypnotised
7. Asleep
8. Anaesthetised
9. Unconscious (coma)
10. Complete lack of awareness
States of Consciousness
Many things bombard our brain with information but it is our
state of consciousness or level of awareness that filters this
information and what we pay attention to.
Consciousness is NOT an all or nothing thing. Consider
daydreaming or falling asleep.
The are TWO types of consciousness: Normal Waking
Consciousness and Altered States of Consciousness.
Normal Waking
Consciousness
The states of consciousness associated with
being awake and aware of our thoughts,
memories, feelings and the sensations we are
experiencing from the outside world.
Normal waking consciousness includes all
states of consciousness in the upper half of the
continuum that involve heightened awareness.
Characteristics of NWC
Attention
Selective attention
Divided Attention
Content Limitations
What you think about is normal, logical and ordered
Controlled Processes (tasks)
Require selective attention
Automatic processes (tasks)
Can be completed with divided Attention
Normal Waking
Consciousness - Attention
Selective Attention
Divided Attention
•Involves selectively attending to
certain stimuli while ignoring
other stimuli.
•The focus of our awareness is
limited
•We notice very little of the
information that is not attended
to
•“Cocktail Party Phenomenon”
•Refers to the ability to distribute
our attention and undertake two
or more activities simultaneously
•Eg- completing a gym workout
while listening to music and
having a conversation with a
friend
The Cocktail Party
Phenonemenon
The ability to divide your attention across a range of
stimuli.
Specifically if you are in a conversation with a group of
people and someone in another conversation mentions
your name, you will shift your attention to the
alternate conversation.
Imagine being at a party and listening to two
conversations at once.
Characteristics of
Consciousness
The following characteristics of consciousness vary
considerably depending on the state of consciousness.
Content Limitation
Controlled and Automatic Processes
Perceptual and Cognitive Distortions
Emotional Awareness
Self Control
Time Orientation
Characteristics of
Consciousness
Activity- Complete the mix and match activity
outlining the characteristics of consciousness
Characteristic of an ASC
Distortions of Perception & Cognition
-
Vivid or dulled, drugs can cause hallucination
-
Cant think straight, hard to make decisions
Disturbed sense of time
-
Teleportation home from that party
Changes in emotional awareness
- more emotional…. I love you guys…slur
Changes in self control
-
Hypnosis more suggestible,
-
control pain response,
-
or maybe do something really stupid
Examples of ASC’s
Sleep/Dreams
Daydreaming
Meditative state
Alcohol induced state
Other psychoactive drugs
Daydreaming
Shift in attention from external to internal stimuli (thoughts
feelings and emotions)
More likely to occur when still
More likely when alone
More likely when tired
Possibly allow us to fulfil fantasies (freud)
Assist with problem solving – try out alternatives
Meditative states
studies show decreased blood flow to the parietal lobes
which control our sense of space
Often attention selectively focused on one thing
Brain wave patterns often resemble early stages of sleep
Can help relieve pain
Stress management
Benefits that rest alone can not give
Alcohol induced states
Alcohol is a psychoactive drug – change consciousness
perception and mood
Alcohol is a depressant – blocks or retards neural
transmission
Excessive acute use can cause death
Drunk people show all elements of ASC
How can you study consciousness?
EEG
How can you study consciousness?
Heart rate
Body temp
GSR - sweating