Phenomenal character as implicit self-awareness
Journal of Consciousness Studies 13 (12):44-73 (2006)
| Abstract | One of the more refractory problems in contemporary discussions of consciousness is the problem of determining what a mental state's being conscious consists in. This paper defends the thesis that a mental state is conscious if and only if it has a certain reflexive character, i.e., if and only if it has a structure that includes an awareness of itself. Since this thesis finds one of its clearest expressions in the work of Brentano, it is his treatment of the thesis on which I initially focus, though I subsequently bring in Sartre where he addresses himself to an important point not considered by Brentano. As part of this investigation, the paper also, more specifically, aims to exhibit as perspicuously as possible the relationship between self-awareness and the phenomenal, or 'what-it- is-like', dimension of conscious experience. I attempt to show, in particular, that the phenomenal character of at least perceptual consciousness can be fully explained in terms of self-awareness, i.e., in terms of a low-level or 'implicit' self-awareness that is built into every conscious perceptual state | |||||||||
| Keywords | *Awareness *Conscious (Personality Factor) *Consciousness States *Psychological Theories *Self Perception | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,679 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesEmrah Duzel (2000). What Brain Activity Tells Us About Conscious Awareness of Memory Retrieval. In Endel Tulving (ed.), Memory, Consciousness, and the Brain: The Tallinn Conference. Psychology Press.
A. Minh Nguyen (2001). A Critique of Dretske's Conception of State Consciousness. Journal of Philosophical Research 26 (January):187-206.
Mark Rowlands (2003). Consciousness: The Transcendalist Manifesto. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 2 (3):205-21.
P. Cicogna & M. Bosinelli (2001). Consciousness During Dreams. Consciousness and Cognition 10 (1):26-41.
Uriah Kriegel (2006). Theories of Consciousness. Philosophy Compass 1 (1):58-64.
Sebastian Watzl (2010). The Significance of Attention. Dissertation, Columbia University
Amie Thomasson (2008). Phenomenal Consciousness and the Phenomenal World. The Monist 91 (2):191-214.
Uriah Kriegel (2003). Consciousness as Sensory Quality and as Implicit Self-Awareness. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 2 (1):1-26.
Greg Janzen (2005). Self-Consciousness and Phenomenal Character. Dialogue 44 (4):707-733.
Greg Janzen (2008). The Reflexive Nature of Consciousness. John Benjamins.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads57 ( #17,333 of 549,074 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,333 of 549,074 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
