Consciousness Studies Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What area of study does an examination of 'blindsight' primarily contribute to understanding about consciousness?

The role of anesthesia in altering conscious states

The mechanisms of self-recognition in animals

The significance of dream content for conscious awareness

The impact of damage to different brain regions on conscious experience (correct)

What key concept does the Mary's Room thought experiment aim to highlight?

The importance of physical facts over subjective experiences.

The completeness of physical knowledge in understanding all aspects of consciousness.

The limitations of empirical observation in scientific inquiry.

The distinction between knowing *about* something and knowing what it is like (*qualia*). (correct)

According to Chalmers, what does Mary's experience upon seeing color for the first time demonstrate?

That all knowledge is ultimately reducible to physical processes.

That physical knowledge is sufficient to predict all subjective experiences.

That new physical knowledge is required to understand color.

That there are aspects of reality beyond the scope of physical facts. (correct)

What is a common objection raised against the conclusion of the Mary's Room thought experiment?

Mary's surprise is due to knowing an old fact in a new way. Signup and view all the answers

How does Dennett argue against the main conclusion of Mary's Room?

He argues the premise of the thought experiment is flawed. Signup and view all the answers

What significant change did Frank Jackson make regarding his own Mary’s Room thought experiment?

He suggested Mary might not be surprised at all due to her complete knowledge. Signup and view all the answers

Which of these best describes the term 'qualia'?

The subjective, experienced qualities of perception. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of the study of consciousness, what does the term 'subjective experience' often refer to?

The internal, personal quality of awareness. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT an example of a quale?

The reaction of photoreceptor cells to different light wavelengths. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary problem of consciousness that is highlighted when considering qualia?

The challenge in explaining how physical brains give rise to subjective experiences. Signup and view all the answers

What does Frank Jackson's 'Mary the color scientist' thought experiment primarily aim to illustrate?

Whether complete knowledge of the brain equals complete knowledge of consciousness. Signup and view all the answers

Before leaving her black and white room, what kind of information does Mary possess regarding color?

The neural and physical mechanisms involved in color vision. Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of Mary experiencing color for the first time, in the thought experiment?

It challenges the idea that all knowledge is physical knowledge. Signup and view all the answers

What is the 'gap' in the history of consciousness, that needs to be explained?

The difference between objective brain processes and subjective experience. Signup and view all the answers

In the context of visual perception, what does the term 'veridical' refer to?

The perception of stimuli exactly as they exist in the external world. Signup and view all the answers

The Hermann grid illusion is primarily caused by what activity of retinal ganglion cells?

Differential activation of center-surround receptive fields. Signup and view all the answers

What is the key characteristic of the visual experience at the blind spot when the background is a complex scene such as a crowd of people?

A filled-in representation that matches the surrounding scene. Signup and view all the answers

According to V.S. Ramachandran's blind spot experiments with two lines, what do subjects typically perceive when a gap between them falls on the blind spot?

Continuous lines that appear unbroken. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following questions best reflects the core issue of whether visual perception is veridical, as discussed in the provided text?

Does the process of vision allow for an accurate mapping of the external world to our internal representation? Signup and view all the answers

What is the significance of the 'thalamic bridge' in the case of conjoined twins Krista and Tatiana Hogan?

It enables direct communication between their visual cortexes. Signup and view all the answers

Based on the information provided, what is an example that best illustrates the concept of shared mental experience between the Hogan twins?

Laughing together at things without speaking, as if they have the same thought. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main point of the 'first-person third-person problem' as it relates to neural networks?

It questions on whether to view the first person perspective, or the third person perspective when studying concepts. Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is the most accurate description of 'Jennifer Aniston neurons'?

They are neurons in the hippocampus that selectively respond when shown images or hearing the name of Jennifer Aniston. Signup and view all the answers

The examples of conjoined twins and concept-specific networks are suggested to help in solving the 'hard problem'. Which of the following is a proper description of the 'hard problem'?

Understanding how the brain produces consciousness and subjective experience from physical processes. Signup and view all the answers

What is 'Epiphenomenalism', as discussed in the lecture?

The idea that physical events produce mental events, but mental events have no causal effect on physical events. Signup and view all the answers

What is the core idea behind René Descartes' concept of 'Substance Dualism'?

The mind and body are two distinct substances that interact within the pineal gland. Signup and view all the answers

Descartes famously concluded 'I think, therefore I am'. What was the purpose of this conclusion?

To establish a firm foundation for his philosophy, with something he could be absolutely sure of. Signup and view all the answers

According to substance dualism, what is the relationship between qualia and physical objects?

Qualia belong to a separate mental world, distinct from the physical brain. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main argument of epiphenomenalism regarding qualia?

Qualia exist but do not have any causal properties and cannot influence physical events. Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes a 'Philosopher's Zombie' from a normal human being?

A zombie lacks internal conscious experiences, or qualia, although it acts and looks like a human. Signup and view all the answers

What does consciousness inessentialism suggest about the necessity of consciousness?

Consciousness is an optional characteristic, and not essential to performing human-like activity. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main argument of Thomas Nagel against reductionism in the context of consciousness?

It is impossible to give physical explanations for subjective experiences, like what it is like being a bat. Signup and view all the answers

According to Nagel, what is the difference between "phenomenal consciousness" (P-consciousness) and "access consciousness" (A-consciousness)?

P-consciousness refers to subjective experience (what it is like), while A-consciousness is when you attend to information in your conscious mind. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the visual system in representing the world?

To generate an internal model or representation of the visual environment. Signup and view all the answers

What does the example of sleepwalking illustrate about consciousness?

Sleepwalking is an example of complex behavior happening without conscious awareness. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Consciousness & the Brain

This is a psychology course (Psychology 169) taught by Dr. Kourosh Saberi with teaching assistant Kathleen Medriano
Required texts:
- Consciousness: An Introduction, 3rd Edition by Susan Blackmore & Emily Troscianko (Chapters 1-12, 15)
- Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts by Stanislas Dehaene
Course topics:
- Theories of consciousness
- Attention & its relation to consciousness
- Dorsal and ventral cortical streams
- Perceptual illusions & their relation to consciousness
- Split-brain patients & damaged brains (locked-in syndrome, persistent vegetative states, anosagnosia paralysis, blindsight)
- Evolution of consciousness
- Transitional states (sleep, dreaming, waking up, sleepwalking, anesthesia)
- Machine consciousness & quantum computing
- Grading:
  - Midterm 1 (1/3 of course grade)
  - Midterm 2 (1/3 of course grade)
  - Final Exam (1/3 of course grade)
  - 50 multiple choice questions
  - Grades will be curved based on class performance
  - Students may drop one exam
  - Each of the remaining exams counts 50% of the course grade

Today's Lecture: The Problem of Consciousness

Defining the problem: No generally accepted definition of "consciousness"
Everyday usage ("awake," "knowing something," "attending to something")
Scientific definitions ("subjective experience”)
Qualia: Qualities experienced subjectively (singular quale - pronounced qua-lay)
- Smell of coffee
- Experience of color
- Pitch of a sound
Qualia: Emphasis on perceptual experience instead of physical/neural mechanisms
- How odorants stimulate receptors in the olfactory bulb
- How rods/cones in the retina are stimulated by different wavelengths of light
- How hair cells in the cochlea encode different sound frequencies
A quale is what something is like
Problem of consciousness: how objective (physical) brains produce subjective qualia
The history of consciousness is the history of explaining a gap

The Explanatory Gap

American Philosopher Joseph Levine coined the term "The Explanatory Gap" (1984)
Defined as the gap between physical brain activity and conscious experience
William James (1890): The chasm between inner and outer worlds.
Tyndall (Irish Physicist): The passage from the physics of the brain to consciousness.
Behaviorists avoided the gap by excluding consciousness and subjective experience.

Chalmers: Easy and Hard Problems

Easy problems: Studied using standard research methods in cognitive science (e.g., attention, memory, motor control)
Solved by understanding neural or computational mechanisms
Hard problem: Subjective experience
- Experience of deep blue
- Sensation of middle C
- Chalmers: Even when all neural mechanisms & functions related to experience are explained, two questions remain: -Why are these functions accompanied by experience (why not a zombie or a robot)? -How do physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience?

The First-Person Third-Person Problem

Scientific study of consciousness based on empirical findings & testable theories
Consciousness is our first-person view of the world
Most science (third-person view): things that can be verified & agreed on by others
Is it possible, in principle, to gain access to another person's experience (qualia)?
Conjoined twins (British Columbia): Krista & Tatiana Hogan
- Brains connected by a "thalamic bridge"
- Light flashed to eyes of one twin causes activity in visual cortex of the other twin
- Experiences of conjoined twins

Jennifer Aniston Neurons

Jennifer Aniston Cells: neurons in the hippocampus that fire selectively to images of Jennifer Aniston.
Other neurons selectively responded to The Beatles, Michael Jordan, Bill Clinton, The Simpsons Cartoon, and Sydney Opera House
Such examples can highlight connections in the brain related to specific concepts and shed light on the hard problem

Today's Lecture: Early theories

Early theories broadly divided into Monist (one kind of stuff in the world) & Dualist (two kinds)
Monist: Mental world is fundamental (George Berkeley), Physical world is fundamental
Epiphenomenalism: Mind is produced by physical events but has no causal role.
Dualism: Mind & brain are two different substances (French Philosopher René Descartes 1596-1650)
- Descartes: mind & physical world interact in the pineal gland

Is Consciousness Essential?

The Philosopher's Zombie: Looks & acts like you, is a physical twin, but is not conscious.
- No view from within; no qualia
- Easy to imagine
- Searle (UC Berkeley): identical behavior in two systems (one conscious, other unconscious)

Sleepwalking

Sleepwalking: Stage 3 NREM sleep (slow wave/deep sleep)
No awareness
No memory

Reductionism

Reductionism: Explanation of entire systems in terms of their individual constituent parts
Analogy: Watch function can be understood via its parts.
- Example: Bats perceive the world through sonar
- Question: What is perception like for a bat?

Negal

Negal distinguishes between two uses of the term "consciousness," phenomenal consciousness (P-consciousness), and access consciousness (A-consciousness)
- Phenomenal consciousness: Experience ("something it is like" to be you.)
- Access consciousness: When you attend to something, it enters your consciousness (the functional aspect of consciousness)
Visual system's representation of the world: -Visual system generates an internal model (representation) of the world -Two questions: How accurately is the world represented? How detailed is this representation?

Perceptual Illusions

Illusion: Something that is not what it appears to be
Café wall illusion: A checkerboard pattern that appears to have different shades of color
Hermann grid illusion: A grid with repeating white dots in black that have gray dots appearing in the intersections
Retinal ganglion cells (and their receptive fields) have a center-surround receptive field structure.
The brain fills in to make the perception of continuity in ambiguous information.

Vision Theories

Early vision theories assume that successive pictures (from multiple saccades) must be integrated into a single representation, requiring massive computation to produce a detailed view of the world.
Change blindness and inattentional blindness challenge these early vision assumptions by demonstrating that our perception can be inconsistent with reality, especially when it is not focused on.

Change Blindness and Inattentional Blindness

Change blindness: Failure to notice changes in a scene, even when they are large and obvious.
- Example: Switching the image of a location can cause change blindness (that location is no longer there).
Inattentional blindness: Failure to notice something obvious when attention is directed elsewhere.
- Example: Hard to see something that is truly unanticipated.

Oliver Sacks

Oliver Sacks: Case studies of patients with visual impairments due to scotoma or other visual processing disorders
Demonstrated various perceptual phenomena and filling-in processes to compensate for the scotoma

Conclusion

Several examples are discussed in this lecture. Other factors affect the process of filling-in, including active cognitive processing, interpretation, and the size and pattern of the object, such as the sizes of the observed objects. There are also studies of the effect of eye saccades and trans-saccadic memory (which is usually poor).

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Description

Test your understanding of key concepts in consciousness studies including the 'Mary's Room' thought experiment and related theories. This quiz covers topics from the provided syllabus, such as 'blindsight' and the implications of conscious experiences. Challenge your grasp of contemporary debates in this fascinating area of psychology.