Philosophy of Consciousness and Materialism

A state of awareness of oneself and one's surroundings.

A condition where someone is able to respond to stimuli without conscious awareness.

A phenomenon where unconscious processing of information can influence behavior.

A theory that proposes that consciousness arises from the interaction of different brain regions.

A theory that proposes that consciousness requires a higher-level of processing that involves reflecting on one's own thoughts and feelings.

A theory that explains consciousness with feedback loops and predictions in the brain.

A theory that suggests consciousness is a product of the complexity of the brain and the amount of information it can process.

A condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are unable to communicate with each other.

Learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a noxious stimulus, or new ways to avoid harmful stimuli are learned through reinforcement.

An animal demonstrates a preference for a substance that reduces pain or induces a state of unconsciousness, suggesting it values the relief provided.

The question of whether or not animals, like octopuses, cuttlefish, squids, and nautiloids, possess consciousness.

The capacity of a machine to exhibit characteristics associated with consciousness, such as self-awareness and subjective experiences.

The question of whether play behavior in animals signifies consciousness, suggesting a deeper level of cognitive capabilities.

The debate on whether tool use among animals demonstrates consciousness, as it implies planning and understanding.

The theory that many decisions are made unconsciously before we are consciously aware of them, with consciousness acting as a veto mechanism.

The idea that the mind and body are separate entities, with the mind having its own unique properties and abilities.

The view that mental events are caused by physical events, but mental events have no causal influence on physical events. In short, consciousness is a consequence of brain activity but doesn't have any impact on the physical world.

The idea that there is only one fundamental reality, which we can call “mind” or “matter”, but not both.

A challenge to materialism that points to the difficulty of explaining how physical events give rise to subjective experiences. It highlights the gap between our understanding of physical processes and our experience of consciousness.

The knowledge argument suggests that physical facts alone cannot account for subjective experiences. This argument claims that even knowing all the physical facts about experiencing red color wouldn't tell you what it’s like to actually see red.

This phenomenon demonstrates that we may not consciously perceive every aspect of our visual environment. In change blindness experiments, participants often fail to notice significant changes in a scene, even when they believe they are paying attention.

This condition occurs when individuals have difficulty attending to and perceiving information on one side of their visual field. It illustrates that our ability to consciously perceive information may be limited even for stimuli present in our visual field.