Frontiers in Psychology
May 10, 2019
Marek Havlík, Eva Kozáková, Jiřı́ Horáček
4 citations
Intrinsic conscious experiences—thoughts, daydreams, and mind-wandering—make up as much as half of conscious life but are largely ignored in consciousness research because they are methodologically difficult and lack dedicated experimental paradigms. This hypothesis and theory article proposes a new paradigm for studying intrinsic consciousness, modeled on methods used for perceptual consciousness. The authors present exploratory proof-of-concept data, discuss how the paradigm could be used, and address its limitations and possible solutions. They argue that intrinsic consciousness will soon become a standard topic in consciousness studies once suitable experimental tools are developed.
Frontiers in Psychology
July 20, 2018
Marek Havlík, Karolína Mladá, Iveta Fajnerová et al.
3 citations
Personality traits, particularly the dimension of self-transcendence measured by Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory, correlate with people's intuitive inclinations toward either dualism or reductive materialism regarding the mind-body problem. In a pilot study using a newly developed questionnaire based on analytic philosophy of the mind, participants categorized as dualists showed significant differences in self-transcendence scores compared to those categorized as reductive materialists. The findings suggest that philosophical positions on the mind-body problem, and possibly responses to thought experiments in philosophy of mind, may be influenced by underlying personality features, a factor that should be considered in future philosophical and empirical research.
Neuroscience of Consciousness
January 1, 2023
Marek Havlík, J. Hlinka, M. Klírová et al.
The science of consciousness has largely relied on identifying neural correlates of conscious experience, but this approach has not yet yielded a mechanistic understanding. Advances in brain stimulation techniques, such as geodesic transcranial electric neuromodulation, now make it possible to move beyond correlation and toward causal explanations. By directly altering neural activity, researchers can test hypotheses about the mechanisms that generate conscious states, overcoming the limitations of purely observational methods. This shift promises to advance the empirical study of consciousness.
Frontiers in psychology
January 1, 2017
Marek Havlík, Eva Kozáková, Jiří Horáček
This review addresses two central questions about consciousness: the 'how' (neural correlates and mechanisms) and the 'why' (the hard problem of why conscious experience exists at all). The authors argue that while the hard problem will likely never fully disappear, its significance may diminish as empirical research advances. They predict that future work will be guided by a unifying brain theory—predictive coding—which must explain both perceptual consciousness and conscious mind-wandering to succeed. Such a theory could clarify the function of conscious experience, thereby reducing the weight of the hard problem.