Bulletpoint Consciousness - An Introduction (ch4 to ch6)

How can the mind be seen as theater? CH.4

    Hume states that the mind is a kind of theater where different perceptions appear, pass by, come back again and mix in different situations. Dennett introduced the concept of 'Cartesian theater' (CT). This means that we feel that our "I" is somewhere in our head.

    The global workspace theory (GWT) of Baars is based on the theater hypothesis. He states that conscious events happen in the theater of consciousness. He states that there is a big difference between the limited number of items available in consciousness and the many unconscious processes that are present. Baars states that consciousness is not an incident, but he also states that consciousness is not something mysterious.

    Dennett is in favor of the multiple drafts model. This model states that all mental activities (perceptions, emotions and thoughts) in the brain arise through parallel processes in different brain routes. These processes ensure that sensory input can be interpreted.
 

What do attention and timing have to do with consciousness? CH.5

    There are various ideas today about the relationship between attention and consciousness. There are basically two opposing ideas about awareness and attention. The first idea is that if attention is paid to something, it will end up in consciousness. The other idea is that consciousness leads the attention processes as it were and that this is the greatest function of consciousness. James called these theories the theory of theories and the theory of success.

    Attention can be involuntary or intentionally focused and these two processes depend largely on different systems in the brain. Examples of involuntary attention are covert attention (looking at the one object, while the focus is on another object) and the 'pop-up effect' (when there is a stimulus between different stimuli that is different from the rest, then it will 'pop out' and draw the attention).

    Libet performed experiments showing that there should be about half a second of neural activity to cause consciousness. The referral hypothesis ('backwards referral hypothesis') predicts that stimulation of the medial lemniscus should be referred back ('subjective referral'). Libet states on the basis of his experiments that an experience is only conscious when it lasts for at least half a second.
 

What is meant by 'the grand illusion'? CH.6

    The term 'the grand illusion' stands for the idea that the richness of our visual world is an illusion. This term arose from research into 'changing blindness' and 'non-intentional blindness'. Inattentional blindness means that there is no question of conscious perception when something is not in the attention.

    James says we can not take in everything we see while looking around. Yet we are not aware that we have looked over things. There are all kinds of visions about gaps: 'isomorphic filling-in' (the brain actually fills in all the details so that a complete image is created in the brain), 'symbolic filling-in' (the gaps become at a higher level of the visual system and this is more conceptual in nature, instead of a picture being filled in) and the vision that the brain does not need to fill in gaps.

    There are different theories about vision. Simons and Levin say that we have a rich visual experience when we focus on something. Rensink believes that people can never have a complete representation of the world. We only make a representation of an object when it is needed, but we do not have a representation of it everywhere. O'Regan and Noë believe that seeing has nothing to do with building internal representations of objects. They are in favor of a sensorimotor theory of vision and visual awareness.