RE: "Nice little roundup of the state of consciousness studies"
⁜→
et al,
I wonder what a 'scientific explanation of consciousness' - or let's say 'mind' - is trying to actually explain — Wayfarer
(COMMENT)
Before commenting on this contribution, I thought I should refresh my understanding of what "science" means when it says "consciousness." That way, I might know a little bit of the topic. So, I when to Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 4thEd, © 2008 The Gale Group, K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Editors, pp1012, for some clarity.
It appears that "Consciousness" is a description of a condition or observation. Science does not know how to describe it otherwise. It is almost (
but not perfectly) the opposite of the term "coma." "Consciousness" is (loosely) defined by the functionality of two sets:
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• The ability to accept and understand various forms of stimulation acquired through various sensory abilities, including, but not limited to taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight. And through these senses, some life forms build and understand of their reality.
• The key physiological triggers that appear to activate "primitive response" and "involuntary reflexes" (
like fight or flight). This functionality is maintained by the reticular activating system (RAS) (
throughout the brainstem).
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The complaint was about science’s “failure” to answer the question. That would needed to be supported by examples of science failing.
Does this pass as making an epistemological argument?] — apokrisis
(COMMENT)
The "Scientific Method" seeks to make sense of what we observe in reality. "Metaphysics" is the ultimate study of reality
(real 'vs' unreal). The "Theory of Knowledge" (
AKAEpistemology) is a discipline within philosophy which leads to how deals with the nature and/or justification as to how knowledge is acquired.
Why any particular scientific endeavor or inquiry "fails" is a forensic "post moratorium" analysis. It is an examination of the hypothesis or the methodology. Even in failures - knowledge is gained. The Epistemological argument occurs in the development of the methodology behind the test and examination of a specific hypothesis → that is before the failure.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
---- Thomas A. Edison
Just My Two-Cents Worth...
Most Respectfully,
R