Article published In:
The Emergence of Consciousness: A top-down, social phenomenon?Edited by Jonathan Cole and Marcelo Dascal †
[Pragmatics & Cognition 18:3] 2010
► pp. 561–569
Edited by Jonathan Cole and Marcelo Dascal †
[Pragmatics & Cognition 18:3] 2010
► pp. 561–569
Defining consciousness
The importance of non-reflective self-awareness
I review the problem of how to define consciousness. I suggest that rather than continuing that debate, we should turn to phenomenological description of experience to discover the common aspects of consciousness. In this way we can say that consciousness is characterized by intentionality, phenomenality, and non-reflective self-awareness. I explore this last characteristic in detail and I argue against higher-order representational theories of consciousness, with reference to blindsight and motor control processes.
Cited by
Cited by 16 other publications
Deane, George
2021. Consciousness in active inference: Deep self-models, other minds, and the challenge of psychedelic-induced ego-dissolution. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2021:2 
Denfield, George H. & Evan J. Kyzar
2024. The Nested States Model: An Empirical Framework for Integrating Brain and Mind. Journal of Consciousness Studies 31:3 ► pp. 28 ff.
Geniusas, Saulius
2022. Modes of Self-Awareness: Perception, Dreams, Memory. Husserl Studies 38:2 ► pp. 151 ff.
Geniusas, Saulius
2022. Towards a Phenomenology of the Unconscious: Husserl and Fink on Versunkenheit. Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology 53:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Geniusas, Saulius
2024. Prolegomena to a phenomenology of mind-wandering. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 23:2 ► pp. 329 ff.
Kreuch, Gerhard
2019. A Brief Overview of Philosophy of Self-Consciousness. In Self-Feeling [Contributions to Phenomenology, 107], ► pp. 3 ff.
Kreuch, Gerhard
2019. The Features of Self-Feeling. In Self-Feeling [Contributions to Phenomenology, 107], ► pp. 123 ff.
Kreuch, Gerhard
2019. Challenges in Current Philosophy of Self-Consciousness – The Heidelberg School. In Self-Feeling [Contributions to Phenomenology, 107], ► pp. 11 ff.
Kreuch, Gerhard
2023. Herausforderungen in der aktuellen Philosophie des Selbstbewusstseins – Die Heidelberger Schule. In Selbstgefühl, ► pp. 11 ff.
Kreuch, Gerhard
2023. Ein kurzer Überblick über die Philosophie des Selbstbewusstseins. In Selbstgefühl, ► pp. 3 ff.
Kreuch, Gerhard
2023. Die Merkmale von Selbstgefühl. In Selbstgefühl, ► pp. 129 ff.
LaValley, Dylan
2022. Equivocating on unconsciousness. Theory & Psychology 32:4 ► pp. 521 ff.
Ludwig, Dylan
2021. The First-Person Perspective Is Not a Defining Feature of Consciousness. Dialogue 60:3 ► pp. 435 ff.
Millière, Raphaël & Albert Newen
2024. Selfless Memories. Erkenntnis 89:3 ► pp. 897 ff.
Montague, Eugene
2012. Instrumental Gesture in Chopin’s Étude in A-Flat Major, Op. 25, No. 1. Music Theory Online 18:4
ONODA, Keiichi
2022. Neural Correlates of Consciousness and Complexity. Japanese Journal of Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology 40:1 ► pp. 93 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.