Mind Body Problem

Question 1

Problems with interactionist dualism (Descartes)

Answer 1

• interaction (pineal gland?) - how does something physical interact with something not physical?
• if consciousness defines us, why does high level processing take place subconsciously?
  L> law of conservation of energy (Helmholtz) - in closed system, total amount of energy doesn’t change

Question 2

Materialism and it’s problems

Answer 2

• no mind
• 1:1 correspondence between mind-brain
• consciousness = illusion or by-product - no causal effect if consciousness on our bodies
• free will = illusion
  Problems:
• identity problem: how possible to experience one event as the same, even if 2 brains differ in processing of info?
• qualia problem: how can our experience be based on materialistic interactions? - reduces experiences to purely materialistic function

Question 3

Functionalism and it’s problems

Answer 3

• instantiations in which computations happen are unimportant - functional organisation is
• cognitive functions aren’t localised in brain
  L> metaphor: if the raw material after teleportation is silicon instead of human wetware the same individual materialises - with the same identity, consciousness and free will -> as long as something functionally equivalent =same
  Problems:
• Chinese room - looking up symbols relate to doesn’t mean understand what is going on
• interaction with external world is through our bodies, determining our consciousness, interaction, learning etc - can’t take context away - cognition is embodied

Question 4

Do we need consciousness for higher level processing? Eg. For vision

Answer 4

Sub-conscious processing can perform higher level cognitive functions in same way as conscious processes
- sub-conscious visual processing can be as efficient/reliable as conscious processing (for social signals)
Low special frequency representations passed onto prefrontal cortex/infero-temporal cortex to guess object: top-down info used to process stimulus at low level
- sub-conscious visual processing can drive guessing, which can drive further subconscious processing (for objects)

Question 5

Global workspace model

Answer 5

Consciousness associated with integrating info: associative perceptual, motor, attention, memory, and evaluation areas - if all in sync = conscious of them

1. Info processing involves numerous special purpose unconscious processors operating in parallel
2. Consciousness associated with info integration late in processing
3. Brain areas associated with consciousness may vary, but those involved with synchronising break activity = constant
4. Close links between attention and consciousness

Question 6

Multiple drafts model

Answer 6

No central stage where all info comes together - where the self observes the homunculus problem
No integrated unitary consciousness
No self
Many kinds of awareness/stories
Several interpretations about the outside world competing for further processing
One that wins is one we think we are conscious of
All info even if contradictory remains available

Question 7

Cognitive v experiential consciousness

Answer 7

• access (cognitive) consciousness: info available in cognitive system for the purposes of reasoning, speech and high-level action control
• phenomenal (experiential) consciousness: subjective experience and feelings
  Under report conscious experiences because phenomenal consciousness is much richer than access consciousness
• 2 problems with consciousness:
  1. Easy problem: how do we integrate info, access our own states, and make decisions?
  2. Hard problem: how does phenomenal consciousness come about?

Descriptive experience sampling (DES) makes us conscious of subconscious processing -> 6 random moments in day hear a beep, describe what experiencing in high detail in that moment
- participant and researcher work on high-fidelity apprehension of each sampled moment of inner experience within 24 hours