Consciousness Is The Way Beings Have Their Own Personal...

Consciousness is the way beings have their own personal experiences in their minds. In other words, how they experience every day situations in their own personal view or perspective. Ned Block (1995) explains that â€Å"phenomenal consciousness is experience; what makes a state phenomenally conscious is that there is something ‘it is like’ to be in that state.† Susan Blackmore (2012) said that consciousness was subjective; meaning consciousness is personal and cannot be shared with anyone else. Study and research on consciousness has advanced and increased in the past years. The Laboratory of Nuero Imaging states that humans have at least 70,000 thoughts racing through their heads on a normal day. These thoughts make up a part of our consciousness; our ongoing dose of qualia, or private internal experiences. It is obvious that humans have consciousness, but do other organisms share this capability? One experiment compared the cognitive ability of humans and gre at apes at the early stages of their development. Mammals, like apes and monkeys, do have consciousness based on anecdotal evidence, research, and experiments. Every animal is distinct and diverse, but some share similar traits. Their brain sizes and capacities differ based on their species. Monkeys and apes are primates that share comparable qualities. Primates are mammals, and mammals are, according to Liana Vitali and Lucie Muir (2005), â€Å"warm-blooded vertebrates which nurse their young on milk produced by theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Personal Identity1742 Words   |  7 Pages To understand Locke’s concept of personal identity it is necessary to understand what he means by identity and what he means specifically by personal identity. Locke states there are three substances that we have ideas of and that have identities. He defines idea in Essay concerning Human Understanding as â€Å"whatsoever is the object of the understanding when a man thinks† (Essay, chapter 1, section 8). That is to say that an idea, to Locke, is the basic unit of human thought. Identity is basedRead MoreReflection Of Identity In Locke And John Lockes Personal Identity954 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Locke in â€Å"Personal Identity† argues that, identity is a function of the mind and not the body. In simple terms, Locke considers personal identity as a matter of psychological continuity, founded on consciousness and not on the substance of either the soul or the body. Locke, is an empiricism which means that his theories must be built on experiences. This is why he states that consciousness is the experience we create, which then creates the personal identity of a person. Locke says that theRead MoreThe Use Of Dualism With The Mind Body Problem Essay923 Words   |  4 PagesTopic: John Locke is very keen on personal identity. He believes that consciousness creates personal identity. The body isn’t essential, so when a person’s soul fleets to a different body, they are still the same person because their consciousness thrives: â€Å"Personal Identity is wherever the consciousness is† (John Locke’s pdf). In order to understand personal identity, he first identifies the concept of a person. A person comprises of a consciousness with experience, the ability to think for oneselfRead MoreJohn Locke And The Self863 Words   |  4 Pagesthere has to be a person after death who is the same person as the person who died. Consciousness can be transferred from on substance to another, and thus, while the soul is changed, consciousness remains the same, thereby it preserves the personal identity through the change. In this paper, I will argue in favor of Locke’s views on the self by showing how personal identity is not in the brain, but in the consciousness. Locke’s views are based off of Tabula rasa, the idea that individuals are bornRead MoreEssay about Personal Identity: Philosophical Views1404 Words   |  6 Pages Personal Identity: Philosophical Views Alan Watts once said, quot;Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.quot; The task of personal identity is to define a quality of a human which makes him or her a unique self. The person whose identity is in question must realize themselves, and other people must identify this person. In other words, what makes John unique from Bob? One must consider both internal (mind) and external (body) perspectives. There are severalRead MorePersonal Identity: Philosophical Views1414 Words   |  6 PagesPersonal Identity: Philosophical Views Tim V Kolton Alan Watts once said, Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth. The task of personal identity is to define a quality of a human which makes him or her a unique self. The person whose identity is in question must realize themselves, and other people must identify this person. In other words, what makes John unique from Bob? One must consider both internal (mind) and external (body) perspectives. ThereRead MoreMetaphysical Studies Of The Self And Personal Identity1395 Words   |  6 Pagesstudies of the self and personal identity were near non-existent prior to Renà © Descartes’ â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy†. While â€Å"Meditations† was not written with the main focus on personal identity, Descartes makes assertions regarding the subject through the possessive voice. Most of the assertions regarding personal identity materialize in Mediations two and six. By using â€Å"I† in his essay, his epistemological paper is turned into a paper that also concerns self, consciousness, and identity. A writerRead MoreThe Experience Of Dr. Macpherson Lecturing1375 Words   |  6 Pagesthis, arguing that, for example, I do not need to be aware of the experience of Dr. Macpherson lecturing in front of the classroom, I am simply aware of Dr. Macpherson lecturing. In other words, we can be conscious of something without being conscious of the fact that we are conscious of that thing. Dretske categorizes this consciousness into two types of awareness, that of object-awareness and that of fact-awareness. Think of a conversation that is going on around you in Leddy Library while youRead MoreJohn Locke And Personal Identity1224 Words   |  5 Pagesstates that personal identity is a matter of physiological continuity that is based on the consciousness of a person rather than the individual’s body. Personal identity is constituted by memory connections; specifically the depiction of autobiographical memory connections that result in constituting personal identity. John Locke states that a person’s personality and psychology can be transferred to another body and that individual can still stay the same person because the consciousness of the personRead MoreConsciousness: Our Portal to Fulfillment 977 Words   |  4 Pagesexpands rapidly and our concept of consciousness i s rapidly evolving with it. Philosophers have filled the void concerning the true nature of consciousness not yet determined by science. Despite the subjective nature of consciousness, perceived by many to be a personal and private aspect of human existence, neurobiologists are investigating and measuring objective characteristics of introspective reasoning and associated elements of morality. Most agree that consciousness is key to human happiness and