Consciousness is variously
defined as subjective
experience, awareness,
the ability to experience "feeling", wakefulness, the understanding
of the concept "self",
or the executive control
system of the mind. It is an umbrella term that may refer
to a variety of mental phenomena. Although humans realize what everyday
experiences are, consciousness refuses to be defined, philosophers note (e.g. John Searlein The
Oxford Companion to Philosophy):
Consciousness in medicine (e.g., anesthesiology) is assessed by observing a
patient's alertness and responsiveness, and can be seen as a continuum of
states ranging from alert, oriented to time and place, and communicative,
through disorientation, then delirium, then loss of any meaningful communication,
and ending with loss of movement in response to painful stimulation.
Consciousness in psychology and philosophy typically
means something beyond what it means for anesthesiology, and may be said in
many contexts to imply four characteristics: subjectivity, change, continuity,
and selectivity. Philosopher Franz Brentano has suggested intentionality or
aboutness (that consciousness is about something). However, within the
philosophy of mind there is no consensus on whether intentionality is a
requirement for consciousness.
Consciousness is the subject of much research in philosophy of mind, psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence. Issues of
practical concern include how the presence of consciousness can be assessed in
severely ill or comatose people; whether non-human consciousness exists and if
so how it can be measured; at what point in fetal development consciousness
begins; and whether computers
can achieve a conscious state.
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