Explaining the "Magic" of Consciousness
@article{Dennett2003ExplainingT, title={Explaining the "Magic" of Consciousness}, author={Daniel C. Dennett}, journal={Journal of Cultural and Evolutionary Psychology}, year={2003}, volume={1}, pages={7-19} }
Is the view supported that consciousness is a mysterious phenomenon and cannot succumb, even with much effort, to the standard methods of cognitive science? The lecture, using the analogy of the magician's praxis, attempts to highlight a strong but little supported intuition that is one of the strongest supporters of this view. The analogy can be highly illuminating, as the following account by Lee Siegel on the reception of her work on magic can illustrate it: “I'm writing a book on magic”, I…
25 Citations
Hard problem of consciousness 1 Hard problem of consciousness
- Philosophy
- 2013
The hard problem of consciousness is the problem of explaining how and why we have qualia or phenomenal experiences — how sensations acquire characteristics, such as colors and tastes.[1] David…
Why and How. The Future of the Central Questions of Consciousness
- PsychologyFront. Psychol.
- 2017
It is expected that future empirical endeavor of consciousness will be based on a unifying brain theory and will answer the question as to what is the function of conscious experience, which will in turn replace the implications of the hard problem.
What Can Neuroscience Tell Us about the Hard Problem of Consciousness?
- PsychologyFront. Neurosci.
- 2016
The problem of explaining how or why neurophysiological processing gives rise to phenomenal experiences has been dubbed the “hard problem of consciousness” to suggest that solving it requires a paradigm shift in neuroscience.
CONSCIOUSNESS MAKES A DIFFERENCE: A RELUCTANT DUALIST'S CONFESSION
- Philosophy
- 2009
This paper’s outline is as follows. In sections 1-3 I give an exposi-tion of the Mind-Body Problem, with emphasis on what I believe to be the heart of the problem, namely, the Percepts-Qualia…
The functional role of free-will illusion in cognition: “The Bignetti Model”
- PsychologyCognitive Systems Research
- 2014
Implications of John Kavanaugh’s Philosophy of the Human Person as Embodied Reflexive Consciousness for Conscientious Decision-making in Brain Death
- PhilosophyThe Linacre quarterly
- 2021
This article reviews the work of Fr. John F. Kavanaugh, SJ (1941–2012), on the human person as embodied reflexive consciousness (RC). It then analyzes the implications of his work for the subject of…
An Ontological Solution to the Mind-Body Problem
- Philosophy
- 2017
I argue for an idealist ontology consistent with empirical observations, which seeks to explain the facts of nature more parsimoniously than physicalism and bottom-up panpsychism. This ontology also…
Attention and awareness in stage magic: turning tricks into research
- Psychology, ArtNature Reviews Neuroscience
- 2008
Cognitive scientists study cognitive illusions to elucidate the underpinnings of cognition, and by studying magicians and their techniques, neuroscientists can learn powerful methods to manipulate attention and awareness in the laboratory.
Do Personality Features Influence Our Intuitions of the Mind-Body Problem? A Pilot Study
- Psychology, PhilosophyFront. Psychol.
- 2018
The data show that the personality dimension of self-transcendence correlates with intuitive inclination toward reductive materialism or dualism, and suggest that ideas, theories, and hypothetical solutions of the mind-body problem and possibly even conclusions, acceptance, and disputations of thought experiments of philosophy of theMind can be biased by personality traits.
Institutions in/cognito: the political constitution of agency
- Philosophy
- 2018
Operating at the boundaries of philosophy of mind, cognitive science, politics and social
theory, this thesis aims to develop an interdisciplinary model of the relationship between
agency and…
References
SHOWING 1-10 OF 17 REFERENCES
The contents of consciousness : A neuropsychological conjecture
- Psychology, Biology
- 2001
The following questions are considered: Why is it difficult to create a theory of consciousness? What are the contents of consciousness? What kind of theory is acceptable as transparent? and, What is…
The contents of consciousness: A neuropsychological conjecture
- PsychologyBehavioral and Brain Sciences
- 1995
Abstract Drawing on previous models of anxiety, intermediate memory, the positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and goal-directed behaviour, a neuropsychological hypothesis is proposed for the…
Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny
- Education
- 1999
A ssume that you are reading this book review from the comforts of your office chair or some stationary position How fast are you moving? Come on, quickly close your eyes and guess without peaking at…
How to study human consciousness empirically or nothing comes to mind
- Philosophy, PsychologySynthese
- 2004
L'A. decrit une methode l'"heterophenomenologie" pour decrire empiriquement les contenus de conscience en partant d'un point de vue "a la troisieme personne" et non pas de l'ego. Elle a des affinites…
Net of Magic. Wonders and Deceptions in India
- Art, History
- 1991
Scholar and magician, Siegel uncovers the age-old practices of magic in sacred rites and rituals and unveils the contemporary world of Indian magic of street and stage entertainers. Siegel's journeys…
Overworking the hippocampus
- Biology, PsychologyBehavioral and Brain Sciences
- 1995
Abstract The postulated hippocampal comparator, like any other subsystem, must rely on “syntactic” patterns in its “input,” and hence could not have the extraordinary powers Gray supposes. It may…
The Consciousness Mind
- 1996
Review of Steven Pinkers How the Mind Works, and Henry Plotkins Evolution in Mind
- Critical Condition
- 1998
Review of Steven Pinkers How the Mind Works, and Henry Plotkins Evolution
- 1998