Tag: Mind

Did smell lead to consciousness?

Smell has apparently always been a peculiar sense.  The sensory pathway of smell information to the brain runs completely independent from the other senses.  The pathways for the other senses run through the midbrain and thalamus and are then relayed to cortical regions.  But smell goes to the olfactory bulb behind the nose, and from … Continue reading Did smell lead to consciousness? →

Is the brainstem conscious?

(Warning: neuroscience weeds and references to gruesome animal research.) The vast majority of neuroscientists see consciousness as a cortical phenomenon.  It may be crucially dependent on sub-cortical and sub-cerebral structures, but subjective experience itself exists mainly or entirely in the neocortex.  In this view, the brainstem only produces reflex responses, with anything more sophisticated coming … Continue reading Is the brainstem conscious? →

Consciousness lies in the eye of the beholder

There are few things that everyone who ponders consciousness can agree on.  It's a topic where debates on the very definition of the subject are common.  The only definitions that seem to command near universal assent are the ones oriented toward phenomenology, such as "subjective experience" or "something it is like."  And even then, the … Continue reading Consciousness lies in the eye of the beholder →

Is it time to retire the term “artificial intelligence”?

Eric Siegel at Big Think, in a new "Dr. Data Show" on the site, explains Why A.I. is a big fat lie: 1) Unlike AI, machine learning's totally legit. I gotta say, it wins the Awesomest Technology Ever award, forging advancements that make ya go, "Hooha!". However, these advancements are almost entirely limited to supervised machine learning, … Continue reading Is it time to retire the term “artificial intelligence”? →

The implications of embodied cognition

Sean Carroll on his podcast interviewed Lisa Aziz-Zadeh on embodied cognition: Brains are important things; they’re where thinking happens. Or are they? The theory of “embodied cognition” posits that it’s better to think of thinking as something that takes place in the body as a whole, not just in the cells of the brain. In … Continue reading The implications of embodied cognition →

A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified

Consciousness Demystified cover

A couple of years ago I did a series of posts inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt's excellent  The Ancient Origins of Consciousness, a book on the evolution of animal consciousness.  Somewhat building on what I had read in Antonio Damasio's Self Comes to Mind, it was a pivotal point in my exploration of … Continue reading A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified →

Is consciousness a thing or a process? Yes.

I came across this tweet by Amanda Gefter: https://twitter.com/AmandaGefter/status/1083749205531942913 William James, the founder of American psychology was an illusionist?  I only read the opening portions of the essay, but it appears so.  However, even in 1904, illusionism, the belief that consciousness isn't what it seems, was a very nuanced thing: To deny plumply that 'consciousness' … Continue reading Is consciousness a thing or a process? Yes. →

Higher order theories of consciousness and metacognition

Some of you know, from various conversations, that over the last year or so I've flirted with the idea that consciousness is metacognition, although I've gradually backed away from it.  In humans, we typically define mental activity that we can introspect to be conscious and anything else to be unconscious.  But I'm swayed by the … Continue reading Higher order theories of consciousness and metacognition →