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Essay on the meaning of consciousness
Essay on the meaning of consciousness
Essay on the meaning of consciousness
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Nowadays, the definition of term consciousness has raised many controversies. “Consciousness is a term to indicate awareness. It includes awareness of the self, of bodily sensations, of thoughts and the environment (Biswas-Diener & Teeny, 2016). It’s not by chance that our life circumstances occur. Most often, they are the projections shown in our thoughts without our knowledge. Multiple observations conducted by scientists and psychologists confirm the influence of though on the conscious. But some of them are beyond our control. To better understand this process, let’s us examine some of my daily situations.
Thoughts associated with awareness occupy my minds and I am no longer able to perceive my real dreams, those coming from deep within me such as the wish of peace, well-being, and tranquility. My conscious choose this events daily regardless of my will. If I spend mulling over something I don’t like in my head, I realize that they will be draw towards me. For example, if I am dreading the encounter with a hateful person, and to this idea I feel anger towards it, I will not only encounter this person, but it will be confrontational causing high brain activity.
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For instance, while watching an emotional movie, I seem to shut everyone else out. Even calling my name is not sufficient to distract me from my activity. But they are moment that I am not able to maintain that ability. I will find myself for example not able to carry on a conversation due to the fact everything around me will distract my attention. Nonetheless my consciousness will still be aware of the conversation, but I just can’t
Chapter 4 discusses the several states of consciousness: the nature of consciousness, sleep and dreams, psychoactive drugs, hypnosis, and meditation. Consciousness is a crucial part of human experience, it represents that private inner mind where we think, feel, plan, wish, pray, omagine, and quietly relive experiences. William James described the mind as a stream of consciousness, a continuous flow of changing sensations, images thoughts, and feelings. Consciousness has two major parts: awareness and arousal. Awareness includes the awareness of the self and thoughts about one's experiences. Arousal is the physiological state of being engaged with the environment. Theory of mind refers to individuals understanding that they and others think,
“I became restless and was afraid to sleep for fear that my suppressed thoughts would appear in my dreams” (70).
People often underestimate how accurate their subconscious thoughts really are. How can one “think”, without actually thinking? An assistant psychologist at Princeton University, Alex Todorov, answers this question. Todrov agrees that as time passes and one becomes more acquainted with people, one would begin to make a more informed opinion about another that is most likely different than what their fist initial impression would have been, ho...
In the Introduction to “The Social Animal”, David Brooks offers a synthesis of new research which challenges our understanding of, as he says “how the conscious and unconscious minds interact.” Specifically, Brooks argues that the processes. As the author, he puts it, “Rob actually shiver[s] as he escort[s] Julia back unconscious and conscious mind interact through how the control is divided up. The unconscious mind controls body movement while the conscious mind controls thinking to her car. His heart [is] palpitating and his breathing [is] fast. […] Vague sensations [sweep] over him, which he [doesn’t] understand […] because their sensations had not cohered into any conscious message” (Brooks 15-17). We can see from this example that Rob
The unconscious mind can be explained in various ways and can take on various attributes. Carl Jung the author of “The Archetype and the Collective Unconscious,” defines unconsciousness as the first reactions and interactions a person endeavors. Several Physicists believe that the unconscious mind acts separately from our voluntary thinking. Scientist believes that understanding the unconscious mind is key to determining what type of archetype a person may have or develop. Experiments such as, reaction to stimuli, have lead cognitive psychiatrist to determine the strength of the unaware and involuntary mind. In addition, many social physicists have also believed that the unconscious mind is unaware of it actions and that the unconscious part of our brain can sometimes be focused on several signs that our conscious self can’t see.
I will commence by defining what makes a mental state conscious. This will be done aiming to distinguish what type of state we are addressing when we speak of a mental phenomenon and how is it, that can have a plausible explanation. By taking this first approach, we are able to build a base for our main argument to be clear enough and so that we can remain committed to.
Often times, the unconscious mind works in ways that influence people’s conscious thoughts. If you feel a certain way about someone or something, it is not uncommon for your mind to invent stories and scenarios that validate your feelings. The
“Contrary to what is commonly assumed by contemporary philosophers, there is no genuine conflict discovered so far between our natural understanding of what it takes to be conscious on the one hand and what we know about the world on the basis of physics, biology and neurobiology on the other. If this is correct, then the strong conviction so common among philosophers today that subject body dualism need not even be seriously considered as a theoretical option has no solid rational basis” (2).
Fite , Warner. Individualism Microform: Four Lectures on the Significance of Consciousness for Social Relations . New York : Longmans, Green, and Company, 1911.
Renner, T., Feldman, R., Majors, M., Morrissey, J., & Mae, L. (2011). States of Consciousness. Psychsmart (pp. 99-107). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Consciousness is an element of human nature, which is discernibly existent. Humans experience life, and without such consciousness, it is possible to have sensations and to be aware. Rene Descartes and John Searle’s perspectives on consciousness explain how our consciousness exists, and what it actually is. Descartes view of consciousness dates back to the seventeenth century, and provides a view of consciousness when it was first philosophized about. On the other hand, Searle differs in his views of consciousness completely, Searle provides an in-depth view of consciousness, which includes biology and adds features to the realm of consciousness. Searle relies his theory heavily on the sciences, which he claims that science informs us of what
“Consciousness is defined as everything of which we are aware at any given time - our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions of the external environment. Physiological researchers have returned to the study of consciousness, in examining physiological rhythms, sleep, and altered states of consciousness (changes in awareness produced by sleep, meditation, hypnosis, and drugs)” (Wood, 2011, 169). There are five levels of consciousness; Conscious (sensing, perceiving, and choosing), Preconscious (memories that we can access), Unconscious ( memories that we can not access), Non-conscious ( bodily functions without sensation), and Subconscious ( “inner child,” self image formed in early childhood).
However, I am not the only person experiencing this problem since several of my friends have confessed to experience similar instances. Although I might appear to be attentive and listening to someone, the reality is that I have actually stopped listening and my mind is focusing on the present thoughts in my head. This mostly occurs when another person utters words that my mind chooses not to examine, study, or dissect. I continue maintaining eye contact thus making another person to think that I am still keenly
Your mind is extraordinarily powerful. Your thoughts control and determine almost everything that happens to you.
The unconscious is the largest part of the mind. All the things that are not easily available t...