Consciousness

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Consciousness

To define such a universally experienced phenomena as consciousness may seem on the most superficial level rather unnecessary. Yet a more scientific, and at times philosophical, investigation into the phenomena demands some sort of confirmed interpretation which supercedes any such common understanding. For our purposes the content of consciousness may be deemed those things of which one is aware and thus can report. Thinking, as well, and the higher-level mechanisms associated there in may also be components of this consciousness. While additionally an individuals' conception that the way in which she experiences the world comes from more than just the neuronal activity of her brain can be understood as a contribution of said consciousness (2).

In his Consciousness and Neuroscience, Francis Crick and Christof Koch searched for the "active neuronal processes in [one's] head [which] correlate with consciousness". This well articulated investigation into the 'neuronal correlate of consciousness' (NCC) utilizes the nature of the visual representation to explore what they hypothesize to be a basic common mechanism, or number of mechanisms, which may account for consciousness (1).

Crick and Koch introduces the argument that "to be aware of an object or event, the brain has to construct a multilevel, explicit, symbolic interpretation of part of the visual scene". Certainly the neuronal activity resulting from the varied patterns of light falling on one's photoreceptors does not alone explain the extent of visual experiences which one may conceive. Indeed the impression of completeness of any given perception proves largely false. Rather, the vivid scene has been 'made-up' by the brain, constructed out of aware...

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...n perceives it.

Web Sources

1)Consciousness and Neurosceince

http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~koch/crick-koch-cc-97.html

2)Scientific Studies of Consciousness

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/cogsci/kcave/Psy115A/consciouc.%20html

3)Notes and Suggestions towards A Theory of Consciousness

http://www.culture.com.au/brain_proj/hyp-cons.htm

4)An Introduction to the Physiology of Ordinary Consciousness

http://www.culture.com.au/brain_proj/physiol.htm

5)Does Consciousness Exist?

http://www.culture.com.au/brain_proj/vaidya.htm

6)NEUROSCIENCE

http://www.bakery.demon.co.uk/SPECIAL/02_00.html

7)NEUROSCIENCE - Specific Brain Regions

http://www.bakery.demon.co.uk/SPECIAL/02_14.html

8)Serendip - Exploring the Consciousness Problem [an error occurred while processing this directive]

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/consciousness/

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