scott
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Post by scott on Jan 31, 2015 20:28:47 GMT
When I dream, I feel I am observing a story/movie. As the observer, I am not the author or director of the movie. Sometimes, I am experiencing the dream in the third person, and sometimes I experience the first person perspective. I can only presume that my sub-conscious mind is in charge, creating the dream story spontaneously. As the observer, I don't know what's going to happen next in the storyline. But when I awake, I can often recall the details of the story and my role in it.
It makes me wonder if the Conscious mind is in a similar position; merely watching the story that unfolds as the sub-conscious directs and controls our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The difference being that we do not wake up from the daily reality generated by our sub-conscious, like we do from our nightly dreams.
This is part of my curiosity regarding the purpose and function of the Conscious mind. Is it an epiphenomenon, a vestigial aspect of our brain? If it can't exert any control over the rest of the brain or even gain access to the sub-conscious, then what possible function does it serve?
Is the sub-conscious self-aware without the conscious mind? Or does it rely on what the conscious mind experiences in terms of self awareness to help evaluate our interactions with the environment?
Your thoughts?
Scott
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Post by chandlerklebs on Feb 7, 2015 19:06:41 GMT
I think that consciousness depends on our senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Without these ways of experiencing the world, even our unconscious could have nothing to make dreams of.
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scott
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Post by scott on Feb 8, 2015 5:37:03 GMT
But dogs dream and they don't have a self-conscious mind. They're walking around taking in all the sensory data you're referring to.
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Post by chandlerklebs on Feb 9, 2015 15:15:00 GMT
What do you mean dogs don't have a self-conscious mind?
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scott
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Post by scott on Feb 11, 2015 1:21:11 GMT
Dogs don't have a sense of self. They do not recognize their 'selves' in a mirror the way great apes can. Or perhaps we could say they are very low on the spectrum of self awareness. Huxley said that dogs and similar mammals are 'conscious automata'. They are aware of the world around them and their behaviors are entirely caused by a priori factors, but they're not nearly as self-reflective as humans.
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Post by chandlerklebs on Feb 14, 2015 22:58:15 GMT
Maybe some dogs do recognize themselves in a mirror but just don't have any reason or method to show us that they do.
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Post by Mr Ed on Aug 3, 2015 1:12:11 GMT
I would add that dogs are not as visual as human beings. Dogs might not be able to recognize themselves in mirrors, but they can perhaps recognize themselves by scent.
Assuming that a dog is not self-aware because it doesn't recognize itself in a mirror is like assuming a man is not self-aware because he can't identify himself by the smell of his skin or sweat.
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Post by chandlerklebs on Aug 13, 2015 10:45:37 GMT
I would add that dogs are not as visual as human beings. Dogs might not be able to recognize themselves in mirrors, but they can perhaps recognize themselves by scent. Assuming that a dog is not self-aware because it doesn't recognize itself in a mirror is like assuming a man is not self-aware because he can't identify himself by the smell of his skin or sweat. An excellent point! Dogs identify dogs and humans by their smells. As a human with a terrible sense of smell, I could never tell the difference between my smell and someone else's.
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