Consciousness Uncovered

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Tomas Chapa

Can We Truly Investigate Subjective Experience?

Can We Truly Investigate Subjective Experience?

I have been reading Subjective Experience: Its Fate in Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and Philosophy of Mind, a book by psychologist Morris Eagle. In it, he highlights that in 1991, the late Daniel Dennett advocated a behaviorist stance, arguing that subjective experience is uninvestigable due to its private nature. Dennett writes: "

We Are Not Machines

We Are Not Machines

Using metaphors: As humans, we love metaphors since they help us make sense of complex ideas. Metaphors in consciousness studies: Every era of consciousness studies has had its metaphors to help us fathom the perplexity of first-person subjective experience (consciousness). It is the engineer in us that reduces the problem

Life Without Mental Imagery: Exploring Aphantasia

Life Without Mental Imagery: Exploring Aphantasia

Try this experiment: Close your eyes. Try to visualize an apple. What do you see? How clear is the apple? How much detail can you see on your apple? What color is it? Does it contain a droplet of water or a reflection? What is the apple sitting on? What

Introducing the Perception Box

Introducing the Perception Box

What is the Perception Box? It’s a metaphor for our subjective experience of reality. The box includes our thoughts, experiences, and dreams. It helps us understand how our beliefs, biases, and narratives shape our perception. We each live in our own Perception Box, which colors our experiences. The term

The Urgency of Defining Consciousness in the Age of AI

The Urgency of Defining Consciousness in the Age of AI

The big picture: A recent study found that most people think AI systems like ChatGPT have conscious experiences similar to humans. This belief isn't too surprising since these systems use first-person pronouns and communicate in ways that mimic human speech. However, when directly asked, ChatGPT clearly states it

The Revival of Panpsychism

The Revival of Panpsychism

Panpsychism, the idea that everything possesses consciousness, is making a surprising comeback. Once dismissed by scientists, this view suggests that consciousness is a fundamental and ubiquitous aspect of the universe. In my previous discussion on Separating Consciousness as Fundamental from Panpsychism, I delve into David Chalmers' critical distinction between

We Need to Save Science from Scientism

We Need to Save Science from Scientism

The Big Picture: A troubling trend has emerged in recent years: the elevation of science to a near-religious status, a belief system often referred to as “scientism.” Scientism isn’t about valuing scientific inquiry and evidence-based reasoning but treating science as the ultimate arbiter of truth beyond questioning or critique.