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Consciousness: Experiences
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Although it is the conventional wisdom that consciousness cannot be defined, philosophers have been describing phenomenal consciousness for centuries. Rene Descartes wrote Meditations on First Philosophy in the seventeenth century, containing extensive descriptions of what it is to be conscious. Descartes described conscious experience as imaginings and perceptions laid out in space and time that are viewed from a point. Each thing appears as a result of some quality (qualia) such as colour, smell, etc. Other philosophers, such as Nicholas Malebranche, John Locke, David Hume and Immanuel Kant... agreed with much of this description, although some avoid mentioning the viewing point. The extension of things in time was considered in more detail by Kant and James.
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"Patients experiencing a hypoglycemic condition may lose consciousness, and if not treated quickly, can suffer short and long-term cerebral damage," remarked Fred Cornhill, Director of Particle Therapeutics. "Current methods of treating diabetic hypoglycemia require the mixing of glucagon powder with a sterile saline solution, followed by needle injection. At present, an estimated 1-1.5 million kits with glucagon powder are sold annually in the U.S. and Europe. Those with Type 1 diabetes typically have at least one to eight such events per year, requiring intervention of another person or summoning of medical assistance. Type 2, insulin dependent diabetes patients have fewer incidents, but, with lower glycemic targets, the incidence of hypoglycemia, requiring third party intervention is increasing. Particle Therapeutics' needle-free device provides a system that can be used quickly by those without special training and without the problems associated with needles."
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Other philosophers, such as George Berkeley, have proposed that the contents of consciousness are an aspect of minds and do not necessarily involve matter at all. This is a type of Idealism. Yet others, such as Leibniz, have considered that each point in the universe is endowed with conscious content. This is a form of Panpsychism. Panpsychism is the belief that all matter, including rocks for example, is sentient or conscious. The concept of the things in conscious experience being impressions in the brain is a type of representationalism, and representationalism is a form of indirect realism.
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Philosophers have used the term ‘consciousness’ for four main topics: knowledge in general, intentionality, introspection (and the knowledge it specifically generates) and phenomenal experience (§§1-2). This entry discusses the last two uses (see other entries on the former two). Something within one’s mind is ‘introspectively conscious’ just in case one introspects it (or is poised to do so). Introspection is often thought to deliver one’s primary knowledge of one’s mental life. An experience or other mental entity is ‘phenomenally conscious’ just in case there is ‘something it is like’ for one to have it. The clearest examples are: perceptual experiences, such as tastings and seeings; bodily-sensational experiences, such as those of pains, tickles and itches; imaginative experiences, such as those of one’s own actions or perceptions; and streams of thought, as in the experience of thinking ‘in words’ or ‘in images’. Introspection and phenomenality seem independent, or dissociable, although this is controversial (§6).
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Would consciousness be advantageous to survival (above and beyond intelligent, complex behavior)? It seems that, yes, consciousness would indeed be advantageous to survival, and hence capable of accelerating evolution. Non-computable behavior (unpredictability, intuitive actions) would be beneficial in predator-prey relations. Having conscious experience of taste would promote finding food; the experience of pain would promote avoiding predators. And the pleasurable qualia of sex would promote reproduction.
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The study further found that bad hair intensifies feelings of social insecurity and self-consciousness. However, the psychological reactions differed among women and men. Women tend to feel more disgraced, embarrassed, ashamed or self-conscious when experiencing bad hair. Men on the other hand, feel more nervous, less confident and are more inclined to be unsociable.
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