Higher-order memory schema and consciousness experience.
Cognitive neuropsychology January 1, 2020 Richard Brown, Joseph Ledoux 26 citations
The Attention Schema Theory (AST) of consciousness attempts to unify Global Workspace Theory, Illusionism, and Higher-Order Thought (HOT) theory. This response argues that AST misrepresents HOT by equating subjective experience with dualism and by presenting HOT as a form of strong illusionism, which it is not. HOT requires awareness of one's mental life through re-representation of lower-order states, but AST denies re-representing visual stimuli. An alternative unification is proposed: Global Workspace Theory and AST explain how lower-order states are assembled and maintained, while HOT accounts for subjective experience.