Stream of consciousness (psychology)
The metaphor "stream of consciousness" suggests how thoughts seem to flow through the conscious mind. Research studies have shown that humans only experience one mental event at a time as a fast-moving mind-stream.[1][2][3] The term was coined by Alexander Bain in 1855 in the first edition of The Senses and the Intellect, when he wrote, "The concurrence of Sensations in one common stream of consciousness (on the same cerebral highway) enables those of different senses to be associated as readily as the sensations of the same sense" (p. 359). But it is commonly credited to William James (often considered the father of American psychology), who used it in 1890 in his The Principles of Psychology.[4][5] The full range of thoughts—that one can be aware of—can form the content of this "stream".
For other uses, see Stream of consciousness (disambiguation).Criticism[edit]
Susan Blackmore challenged the concept of stream of consciousness. "When I say that consciousness is an illusion I do not mean that consciousness does not exist. I mean that consciousness is not what it appears to be. If it seems to be a continuous stream of rich and detailed experiences, happening one after the other to a conscious person, this is the illusion." However, she also says that a good way to observe the "stream of consciousness" may be to calm the mind in meditation. The criticism is based on the stream of perception data from the senses rather than about consciousness itself. Also, it is not explained the reason why some things are conscious at all.[17] Suggestions have also been made regarding the importance of separating "two levels of analyses" when attempting to understand the "stream of consciousness".[10]
Baars is in agreement with these points. The continuity of the "stream of consciousness" may in fact be illusory, just as the continuity of a movie is illusory. Nevertheless, the seriality of mutually incompatible conscious events is well supported by objective research over some two centuries of experimental work. A simple illustration would be to try to be conscious of two interpretations of an ambiguous figure or word at the same time. When timing is precisely controlled, as in the case of the audio and video tracks of the same movie, seriality appears to be compulsory for potentially conscious events presented within the same 100 ms interval.
J. W. Dalton has criticized the global workspace theory on the grounds that it provides, at best, an account of the cognitive function of consciousness, and fails even to address the deeper problem of its nature, of what consciousness is, and of how any mental process whatsoever can be conscious: the so-called "hard problem of consciousness".[18] A. C. Elitzur has argued, however, "While this hypothesis does not address the 'hard problem', namely, the very nature of consciousness, it constrains any theory that attempts to do so and provides important insights into the relation between consciousness and cognition.", as much as any consciousness theory is constrained by the natural brain perception limitations.[19]
New work by Richard Robinson shows promise in establishing the brain functions involved in this model and may help shed light on how we understand signs or symbols and reference these to our semiotic registers.[20]
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#0__subtitleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#4__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#4__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#2__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#5__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__heading--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#6__description--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__heading--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__description--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__heading--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__description--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__heading--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#3__description--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__descriptionDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__heading--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__description--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__heading--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__description--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__heading--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#7__description--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#8__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#8__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#12__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#12__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#11__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#11__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#9__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#9__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#10__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#10__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__titleDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__subtextDEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__answer--0DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__answer--1DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__answer--2DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__answer--3DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__answer--4DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__answer--5DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$
$_$_$DEEZ_NUTS#1__answer--6DEEZ_NUTS$_$_$