Conscious Unity from the Top Down: A Brentanian Approach

The question of the unity of consciousness is often treated as the question of how different conscious experiences are related to each other in order to be unified. Many contemporary views on the unity of consciousness are based on this bottom-up approach. In this paper I explore an alternative, top-down approach, according to which (to a first approximation) a subject undergoes one single conscious experience at a time. From this perspective, the problem of unity of consciousness becomes rather the problem of how we can distinguish a multiplicity of goings-on within our conscious experience at any time, given that it is unique. I will present three possible top-down approaches to unity of consciousness, which I call Priority unity monism, Existence unity monism, and Brentanian unity monism. Priority monism and Existence monism are defined in analogy with the homonymous metaphysical theories of object constitution. Brentanian monism retraces Franz Brentano’s view on unity of consciousness, and is defined by appeal to some of his mereological ideas. I will argue that the latter is the best top-down approach to unity of consciousness

Unity of consciousness in animals

Both Descartes the rationalist and Hume the empiricist, polar opposites philosophically, denied the unity and continuity of animal mind. Kant pointed out that the presence of retrievable memories entails unity of consciousness. Rowlands now argues that animals too have unity of consciousness

Unity of consciousness in animals

Both Descartes the rationalist and Hume the empiricist, polar opposites philosophically, denied the unity and continuity of animal mind. Kant pointed out that the presence of retrievable memories entails unity of consciousness. Rowlands now argues that animals too have unity of consciousness

The Unity of Consciousness and Sensory Integration: Conference Report

This report highlights and explores five questions which arose from The Unity of Consciousness and Sensory Integration conference at Brown University in November of 2011: 1. What is the relationship between the unity of consciousness and sensory integration? 2. Are some of the basic units of consciousness multimodal? 3. How should we model the unity of consciousness? 4. Is the mechanism of sensory integration spatio-temporal? 5. How Should We Study Experience, Given Unity Relations

Selfhood and the Unity of Consciousness

The focus of my summer research was a philosophical investigation of the concept of selfhood incorporating an emphasis on the physical realities of the brain, in particular bi-hemispheric communication between the right and left hemispheres via the neural pathway known as the Corpus Callosum. Working within the theoretical framework of Derek Parfit the present research explored the question of selfhood by maintaining a focus on the unity of consciousness we all associate with the singular nature of the self. The theory of conscious unity--or the idea that at any one time all our phenomenal experiences are unified by the fact that there is a single subject of experience—has been contested by the emergence of certain neuropsychological discoveries concerning communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Specifically, laboratory experiments conducted on brain bisected patients (individuals who had their Corpus Callosum severed) yielded interesting results which have led some theorists to speak of a “duality of consciousness.” The present research focused on these findings and their implications for personal identity and concluded that what was revealed by these experiments was not a duality of consciousness, but rather that the existence of a persistent unified self a falsehood

The unity of consciousness in Aristotle’s greek commentators

Análisis de los comentarios griegos al De anima de Aristóteles, así como de otras interpretaciones neoplatónicas relativas a la conciencia sensible y la autoconciencia. En especial examen de las interpretaciones de Temistio, Filopón, Simplicio, Esteban, Plotino y Proclo. Breves indicaciones acerca de la recepción de los Elementos de teología de Proclo en Dietrich de Freiberg.Analysis of the Greek commentaries to Aristotle’s De anima, as well as other Neoplatonic interpretations related to the sensitive consciousness and self-awareness. In particular, I focus on an examination of the interpretations of Themistius, John Philoponus, Simplicius, Esteban, Plotinus and Proclus. Brief indications about the reception of the Elements of theology of Proclus in Dietrich de Freiberg

THE UNITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS EXPERIENCE AND CURRENT PHYSICAL THEORY

We in the western scientific culture have just begun, in mass, to explote our inner cosmos. Inner exploration has been an intellectual activity in the relatively recent past, has been associated with psychotherapy. Now inner exploration is beginning [0 enter the domain of emotional and spiritual development as well. Certainly the nature of our inner being, the nature and structure of our consciousness, shapes and determines our concept of reality. This realization is having a vast impact on the world societies and us, as individuals. One manner in which we internally organize the mental, emotional and spiritual information we receive is by mental system of concepts or categories of information and their causal relations. We address the fundamental nature of conscious perception and how we comprehend existence. Techniques such as yoga, meditation, and processes of spiritual awakening have opened the horizons to the consideration of the attributes of the consciousness. There also appear [0 be clues as [0 the nature of consciousness in the structure of physical theory. In fact, the co-called internal journey and external validation system of science may be leading us onto a similar path of knowing. In this paper, we explore some of the basis of the structure and representations of human thought and thought processes. If we can better understand the relationship between our inner thinking, feeling modes on the external world and our universal connections, we will be able [0 better move [0 world peace, personal peace and freedom in time

The Phenomenal Unity of Consciousness

opinionated review of some of the recent work on the phenomenal unity of consciousness