CONSCIOUSNESS: 1. INTRO AND DEFINITION: a. It is an important topic for many philosophers and psychoanalysts: to some it is an illusion; to others it is the basic characteristic of man. It is sometimes defined as primary or reflective self-awareness. b. Characteristics of Cosciousness. I. Consciousness consists of a number of states such as feelings and thoughts. These states are in a dynamic movement and constitute a so-called stream of consciousness. a. Bergson and James: on. is subjective, thus it is not the same in all human beings. b. It changes constantly and is affected by discontinuity of attention. c. It is like a rolling snowball which grows with time. d. It is not measurable. Thus, it is qualitative in nature. e. It is selective. 2. PROBLEMATIC: some philosophers deny the existence of consciousness. To some man is like an operating machine and that free-will does not exist. Others (like Avicenna and Descartes) believe in its existence and stress that man is a free being. 3. KNOWLEDGE OF CONSCIOUSNESS: Introspection = consciousness of consciousness = self-observation of consciousness. According to introspectionists and structurlists consciousness consists of psychic states which also consist of simpler units called psychic facts. 4. POSSIBILITIES AND IMPORTANCE OF INTROSPECTION In order to know what the other is thinking psychoanalysts developed questionnaires, interviews etc. these are some methods to measure consciousness, or in other words these are methods of introspection. 5. DIFFICULTIES ON INTROSPECTION AND SELF CONCSIOUSNESS: Many philosophers oppose the theory of introspection: Does introspection unveil the real knowledge of man. Is this method a reliable tool? a. In introspection one must be extremely objective. b. Introspection requires conscious observation, hence only a person who is highly conscious can perform it. Thus, it cannot be applied on the study of children. c. Bergeson: introspection is formal:it cannot get into the real meaning of psychic life. d. Auguste Comte: there should be a distance between the subject and object in order to get to the real knowledge. It is impossible for the conscious to observe itself, since self-observation implies the annihilation of all distance.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 08:13:12 +0000
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