The Universality of Experiential Consciousness
Information January 17, 2019 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3390/info10010031 via DOAJ
Summary
Phenomenal consciousness (raw experience) applies to all living things, while access consciousness (verbal, conceptual thought enabling reasoning and planning) is uniquely human. This challenges Block's view that access consciousness exists in some non-human organisms. The argument rests on the claim that only humans possess verbal language and therefore the ability to conceptualize and reason rationally.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | Phenomenal consciousness applies to all living things, but access consciousness—a verbal, conceptual form enabling rational decision-making—is uniquely human. |
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Abstract
It is argued that of Block’s (On a confusion about a function of consciousness, 1995; The Nature of Consciousness: Philosophical Debates, 1997) two types of consciousness, namely phenomenal consciousness (p-consciousness) and access consciousness (a-consciousness), that p-consciousness applies to all living things but that a-consciousness is uniquely human. This differs from Block’s assertion that a-consciousness also applies to some non-human organisms. It is suggested that p-consciousness, awareness, experience and perception are basically equivalent and that human consciousness has in addition to percept-based p-consciousness, concept-based a-consciousness, a verbal and conceptual form of consciousness that can be utilized to coordinate, organize and plan activities for rational decision-making. This argument is based on Logan’s (The Extended Mind: The Emergence of Language, The Human Mind and Culture, 1997) assertion that humans are uniquely capable of reasoning and rationality because they are uniquely capable of verbal language and hence the ability to conceptualize.