Hi everybody. As I mentioned in class, we are reading about theories of consciousness for Thursday–Thomas Nagel’s classic (and short) essay, “What It Is Like to Be a Bat?” and Joseph LeDoux’s up-to-date (and fairly long) overview of current theories of consciousness.

The reading may feel unfamiliar, but don’t be daunted. I have three pieces of advice:

1.) Circle or underline anything that seems important but that you don’t fully.

2.) Circle or underline the terms below whenever they come up. Do your best to make sense of them in context, and we’ll discuss them in more detail in class.

3.) Try to decide which of the theories LeDoux describes seems most persuasive–and try to articulate why.

The Terms

Qualia: The simple sensory qualities to be found in the blueness of the sky or the tone of sound produced by a cello. (The Feeling of What Happens 9)

Neural correlate: Neurological activity that can be measured and correlated with any given experience, or qualia.

“The Hard Problem”: The difficulty of explain how–or whether–brain functions produce conscious experiences, or qualia.

Materialism, or Physicalism: A belief that the brain alone is the key to understanding mind or conscious experience.

Dualism: The belief that mind and body (including the brain) are distinct from each other–for example, that a soul or other entity separate from the body makes the mind.

Metacognition: Thinking about thinking (or feeling).

The Cerebral Cortex: “The cerebral cortex is the outer covering of gray matter over the hemispheres. This is typically 2- 3 mm thick, covering the gyri and sulci” (Swenson, Review of Clinical and Functional Neuroscience).

Subcortical Theories: Explanations of consciousness that suggest it emerges from brain systems below the cortex–and therefore that it is a product of early evolution and shared by species other than humans.

Re-entrant processing: Widespread or “global” cross-communication among regions or systems of the brain.