Category: Zeitgeist

Islands of awareness

(Warning: neuroscience weeds) An interesting paper by Tim Bayne, Anil Seth, and Marcello Massimi, which came up in my Twitter stream today, asks whether there can be islands of awareness. Ordinary consciousness involves ongoing interaction with the environment, receiving sensory information, and producing motor output.  It has a functional role, enabling an organism to deal … Continue reading Islands of awareness →

Daniel Dennett on why phenomenal consciousness is access consciousness

This old talk by Daniel Dennett touches on a lot of topics we've discussed recently.  Dennett explains why it's wrong to regard phenomenal consciousness (the "what it's likeness" or "raw experience" version) as separate from access consciousness (the cognitive access of information for decision making, memory, report, etc). Note that Dennett doesn't deny the existence … Continue reading Daniel Dennett on why phenomenal consciousness is access consciousness →

Stimulating the central lateral thalamus produces consciousness

(Warning: neuroscience weeds) A couple of people have asked me about this study, described in numerous popular science articles (such as this one).  A monkey had electrodes installed in its brain that allowed scientists to stimulate parts of its thalamus, the region at the center of the brain which links the cortex to the brainstem … Continue reading Stimulating the central lateral thalamus produces consciousness →

Prefrontal activity associated with the contents of consciousness

The other day I bemoaned the fact that the Templeton competition between global workspace theory (GWT) and integrated information theory (IIT) would take so long, particularly the point about having to wait to see the role of the front and back of the brain in consciousness clarified.  Well, it looks like many aren't waiting, and … Continue reading Prefrontal activity associated with the contents of consciousness →

Stephen Macknik’s work on prosthetic vision

This is pretty wild.  In her latest Brain Science podcast, Ginger Campbell interviews Stephen Macknik on his work to develop a visual replacement implant for blind people.  For a quick overview, check out this short video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiA1W1OnU9c One question Campbell asks, that I was wondering myself: how does the light reach the neurons in the … Continue reading Stephen Macknik’s work on prosthetic vision →

Peter Carruthers on the problems of consciousness

Peter Carruthers is posting this week at The Brains Blog on his new book, Human and Animal Minds, which I mentioned in my post on global workspace theory.  His first post focuses on two issues: latent dualism and terminological confusion. I think he's right on both counts.  On the latent dualism issue, I'm reminded of … Continue reading Peter Carruthers on the problems of consciousness →

The battle between integration and workspace will take a while

Well, I find this a bit disappointing.  I was hoping that the contest between global workspace theory (GWT) and integrated information theory (IIT) would be announced sometime this year.  Apparently, I'm going to have to wait awhile: Pitts describes the intention of this competition as “to kill one or both theories,” but adds that while … Continue reading The battle between integration and workspace will take a while →

Daniel Dennett on consciousness and the hard question

This interview is pretty much classic Daniel Dennett.  He starts off pointing out that introspection is unreliable, that our beliefs about our inner experience are what need to be explained, not necessarily what the beliefs purport to be reality.  He doesn't name the meta-problem, but it's clear that, and related concepts, are what he's talking … Continue reading Daniel Dennett on consciousness and the hard question →