Outline of Consciousness - 1283 Words

Section 4: Consciousness Pages 114-117 I. Defining Consciousness a. Consciousness is commonly defined as being aware of the immediate environment. i. For example, knowing when to go to class or work. b. Consciousness also deals with awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and memories. i. Examples 1. Making plans for dates. 2. Getting annoyed at your performance in school. 3. Thinking back about good times with your friends. c. Early psychologists and their studies i. When early psychologists studied the mind, they studied consciousness. 1. William Wundt (late 1880 s) had subjects report contents of consciousness while working, falling asleep, and sitting still. 2. Sigmund Freud (1900 s) wrote that needs, desires, and†¦show more content†¦a. Stated that left-dominated and right-dominated modes of consciousness function in a complimentary and alternating fashion. i. One works while the other in inhibited (Galin, 1974; Ornstein, 1976). b. Integration of these two modes underlies the highest human accomplishments. i. Support for this is still modest since the brain s functioning cannot be fully explained by it s structure. 4. Newest explanations of consciousness can be done by Dennett (1991, 1996) and neurologist Restak (1994). a. Both had a materialistic viewpoint. b. Dennett asserts that people have access to many sources of information, which in combination create conscious experiences in his book, Consciousness Explained. i. Also says that the brain creates copies of experiences that can constantly be reanalyzed. ii. The brain develops a sense of consciousness as well as a sense of self through this constant updating and reanalysis of experience. 1. Theory is untested, widely unaccepted and criticized (Mangan, 1993). 2. It does take a new path in suggesting that perceptual, physiological, and historical information come together in each individual to create consciousness. c. Restak supported Dennett s ideas in his book, The Modular Brain. i. He said that the brain s various sections control behavior in a human being. ii. Consciousness isn t organized, but rather just resides in these sections. 1. If you lose one of those sections in an accident, then you will lose its respectiveShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Consciousness Of Chinese Sex Workers1371 Words   |  6 PagesThe Legal Consciousness of Chinese Sex Workers in Relation to Abuse and Unjust Treatment Professor Margaret L. Boittin’s research mainly focuses on areas such as Chinese law, human trafficking and prostitution. In the article Abuse and the Legal Consciousness of Se Workers in China, she outlines the lifestyle of a prostitute and all the major obstacles that follow. Boittin helps the reader interpret the relationship of Chinese sex workers to their society and laws. 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