Computation, reduction, and teleology of consciousness
Cognitive Systems Research 1 (1):241-249 (2001)
| Abstract | This paper aims to explore mechanistic and teleological explanations of consciousness. In terms of mechanistic explanations, it critiques various existing views, especially those embodied by existing computational cognitive models. In this regard, the paper argues in favor of the explanation based on the distinction between localist (symbolic) representation and distributed representation (as formulated in the connectionist literature), which reduces the phenomenological difference to a mechanistic difference. Furthermore, to establish a teleological explanation of consciousness, the paper discusses the issue of the functional role of consciousness on the basis of the aforementioned mechanistic explanation. A proposal based on synergistic interaction between the conscious and the unconscious is advanced that encompasses various existing views concerning the functional role of consciousness. This two-step deepening explanation has some empirical support, in the form of a cognitive model and various cognitive data that it captures. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved | |||||||||
| Keywords | *Cognitive Processes *Consciousness States *Mind *Models *Theories Neural Networks | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. Try with proxy. Try with proxy. Try with proxy. Try with proxy. Try with proxy. Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesJeffrey W. Cooney & Michael S. Gazzaniga (2003). Neurological Disorders and the Structure of Human Consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 7 (4):161-165.
Bill Faw (2004). Cognitive Neuroscience of Consciousness: A Review Article. [REVIEW] Journal of Consciousness Studies 11 (2):69-72.
Ivan Moura (2006). A Model of Agent Consciousness and its Implementation. Neurocomputing 69 (16-18):1984-1995.
Alain Morin (2006). Levels of Consciousness and Self-Awareness: A Comparison and Integration of Various Neurocognitive Views. Consciousness and Cognition 15 (2):358-371.
Paul Skokowski (2007). Networks with Attitudes. Artificial Intelligence and Society 22 (3):461-470.
Owen Holland (ed.) (2003). Machine Consciousness. Imprint Academic.
Ron Sun (1997). Learning, Action, and Consciousness: A Hybrid Approach Toward Modeling Consciousness. Neural Networks 10:1317-33.
Pete Mandik (2007). The Neurophilosophy of Consciousness. In Max Velmans & Susan Schneider (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness. Blackwell.
Anthony P. Atkinson, Michael S. C. Thomas & Axel Cleeremans (2000). Consciousness: Mapping the Theoretical Landscape. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4 (10):372-382.
Ron Sun (1999). Accounting for the Computational Basis of Consciousness: A Connectionist Approach. Consciousness and Cognition 8 (4):529-565.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads6 ( #145,498 of 549,037 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,272 of 549,037 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
