State of Consciousness
For this assignment, you will submit a 2-3 page (body only, standard border and font) paper on the topic selected for your group project. Once you have determined your topic, narrow down that topic to a particular subtopic or item of interest. A good way to narrow down your topic would be to identify some issue, concept, argument, or idea that you have learned from the topic on the basis of its interest to you. You might be interested in this subtopic because of some past experience or because it intrigues you intellectually, or perhaps because it provokes questions or criticisms from you. Whatever the reason for your interest in this subtopic, you should explore that subtopic in greater detail (using the readings and links provided or through any additional research). Once you have identified a subtopic or specific item of interest, begin to consider a thesis on that specific topic. A thesis can be a question that needs clarification, it can be a position on the topic in question, or it could be an observation about the nature of the topic (comparing positions or considering a specific application). In any case, the thesis is the core of the paper. In the paper, you will provide an argument that supports your thesis statement. Your paper should advance evidence and reasons in support of your thesis statement. For philosophy papers, evidence comes in two forms: 1) citations from primary or secondary sources, and 2) original arguments. When citing either primary or secondary sources, you need not only to repeat what these sources say, but you must also provide context and an interpretation that clearly links the evidence to your thesis. When providing original arguments, remember not to overstate your case (if you do, your argument may be susceptible to easy objections). Also, be sure to consider possible objections to your argument (especially those that come from the readings and links provided in the course). You will need to provide a works cited page with all relevant sources. You may use any standard citation form (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). Your paper will be graded according to the following criteria: Thesis: the paper provides a clear, relevant, and insightful thesis statement. Argument: the paper provides sufficient, relevant, and accurate evidence in support of the thesis statement. This evidence is organized in a clear and convincing manner. Understanding: the author presents a fair and accurate interpretation of the topic with an awareness of various positions as well as the differences between them. Composition: the paper is written clearly, with minimal grammatical and spelling errors, and provides accurate and properly formatted citations.
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State of Consciousness
A state of consciousness means being aware of oneself or being aware of an outside object or the inherent feelings within the individual (Hay et al. 147). The concept means that anything that we are aware of at any given time forms part of our consciousness making consciousness an integral part of our lives. Conscious states are believed to be of significant importance as a source of knowledge of both the environment that is around the conscious person and the object in the subject’s mind. The conscious perception is an interface between belief states and the environment; therefore, presenting us with the local world in a form that allows us to form judgments that are knowledgeable about it (Lee 1).
The mind-brain problem often refers to the question of whether or not the consciousness of human beings is reducible in all aspects that pertain to the scientific law. Relative materialism insists on observing nature directly. It explains all events and situations with the laws of nature. Referring to qualia (the private feelings of an individual’s experiences), reductive materialists argue that such feelings are certainly known by the individual as the individual’s experience in the world (Levine 356-357). They argue that the brain is likely to misrepresent an internal experience as an external experience. For example, pain can disappear after anesthesia even when the same knife continues cutting the skin. Moreover, one has the ability to hallucinate different colors both privately and publicly. The reconstruction process of the brain of the external world is a private experience as that of one’s qualia, but no one claims the infallibility of the external world (Levine 356-357).
Research in neuroscience has revealed that brain neurons are the foundation of all functioning of the brain. The brain has millions of neurons joined by dendrites and axons. Signals coming to the brain are in form impulses (electric) generated by the neurons and transmitted via the dendrites to the synapses that monitor all the incoming signals. On reaching the appropriate level, the signal depolarizes the existing electrical differential inside and outside the neuron causing it to fire. The fired neuron communicates the signal to other neurons, and it takes about a hundredth of a second to repolarize a new spike. This speed is too slow to complete the complex tasks the brain instantaneously does, for example, recognizing a familiar face.