I don't think it is a mystery. I think most of the confusion comes from a lack of imagination. People can't help but think that consciousness is something special and that we need to identify special sources for it. — T Clark
Would you be happy with "affect is primary and is located in the brain stem"? — Daemon
one definition could be that it's polysemous in nature. Meaning (pardon the pun), because not only do we have the phenomena associated with the conscious, subconscious and the unconscious mind (all working together in an illogical mix), we have philosophical ambiguities connected with an individual's perception of truth (Subjectivity). Different people experience the same text, and come away with different statements of fact about that text’s meaning. — 3017amen
From: https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/532484I tried to pick the definitions I think are relevant to the kinds of discussions we have on the forum. It would be nice if the people starting those discussions would be clear about these kinds of issues. That's not likely to happen. I mostly started this post to clarify in my own mind what I mean when I use these words. — T Clark
I at least want to come up with a meaning that applies to the "hard problem of consciousness" people talk about.
— T Clark
Are you familiar with the original paper, which is here http://consc.net/papers/facing.html
Perhaps it might be useful to talk in terms of what you do or don't agree with or understand about this paper, as that is the one that defined the problem. — Wayfarer
I must admit I'm not much interested in the experience of consciousness from a scientific or philosophical perspective. It doesn't seem that important to me. For me, consciousness is a behavior. We know it the way we know other human and animal behaviors - by observing it, including what the person says about it when that is available. There really is only one experience of consciousness in my universe - mine.
Yes, yes. of course I believe other people experience it too, but that's because I've observed their behavior. This list from Chalmers identifies at least some of the behaviors related to consciousness that we can observe. He acknowledges that. — T Clark
My definition of ostensive definition wasn't a non-standard definition of ostensive definition. — Daemon
ostensively, that is, by pointing to examples. — Daemon
Do you feel consciousness can be explained logically? — 3017amen
And so some would argue that meaning itself, is neither objective nor subjective, deterministic nor relativistic; meaning is contingent. In that simple context, consciousness means that one simply enjoys the opportunity to experience meaningfulness. — 3017amen
I'm reasonably well-read but I had never heard the word used in that way. I wouldn't have been able to figure out what you meant from context. I think that is true of most people on the forum and in the world in general. — T Clark
Do you feel that an apple can be explained logically? Consciousness is a phenomenon, it's behavior. — T Clark
And so some would argue that meaning itself, is neither objective nor subjective, deterministic nor relativistic; meaning is contingent. In that simple context, consciousness means that one simply enjoys the opportunity to experience meaningfulness. — 3017amen
I really don't know what you're trying to say. I think we've laid out good ways to talk about consciousness in this thread. What else is needed? — T Clark
This distracts from the point Daemon was making* — Amity
It was clear to me from the context. — Amity
I wasn't commenting on the content of what Daemon said. — T Clark
I understood that albeit in a roundabout way.I used it as a positive example of why it is important for us to make sure people understand the meaning of the words we use. — T Clark
It was clear to you because he gave the definition, which was my point. — T Clark
I wouldn't have been able to figure out what you meant from context. I think that is true of most people on the forum and in the world in general. — T Clark
John Searle says that, like many other terms, consciousness is best defined ostensively, that is, by pointing to examples. — Daemon
Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.