Essay On Hallucinations And The Human Consciousness

Essay on Hallucinations and the Human Consciousness
Hallucinations and the Human Consciousness The idea of consciousness has been contemplated
throughout the course of neurobiology and behavior. When does it begin or end? And what,
precisely, is consciousness? Though researchers may only approximate the answers to these
questions, a few things may be inferred. Since the subconscious mind is the sleeping mind, the
conscious mind can be thought of as the awakened mind, the mind which shows itself to others most
often. (1) This is not to say that the conscious mind is reality, because (as will later be explained)
reality is quite subjective. (1) It is just that the conscious mind is the one most people associate with
reality. For example, people who experience an event while dreaming ... Show more content on
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(1,2) Since there are many causes of hallucinations––lack of sleep, drugs, certain types of epilepsy,
and prolonged meditation–not all causes are related to psychological disorders. (1) The second
important issue concerning hallucinations is that people who experience hallucinations experience a
lapse in perception. (1,2,3) People who hallucinate often know what they are experiencing is caused
by external factors. Therefore their perception of events is being altered, but not to the extent where
they believe in a different reality. (An alteration of reality is referred to as a delusion, which is more
serious than a hallucination.) (2) Our perception is not absolutely real. Our brain filters the
environment through sensory areas. The brain's cognitive ability allows us to organize the stimulus
from the external world and perceive it as the "real" world. Basically, our perception is only an
approximation of reality. Since we are already constantly thinking through representations and
symbols, it is not that difficult for our perception to be skewed into hallucinations. While
hallucinating, the sensory regions of the brain are overridden by the memory areas of the brain. (1)
The memory areas are now in charge and call upon the sensory areas to deliver a hallucination with
feeling, smell, sight, etc. Since all the senses as well as familiar memories are involved in
hallucinations (unlike dreams), perception is distorted for a short while. (1) There are
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Augustine's Doubts About The Consciousness Of Human
Consciousness refers to the relationship and interactions between our mind and its surrounding
environments. Consciousness fades when the normal patterns of waking neural activity in the brain
are replaced by the patterns characteristic of sleep, or when the tissues of the brain are damaged
physically or by intoxicants. We do not have a set explanation has to how brain activity produces
consciousness. It is concluded that consciousness is an elemental component of the universe that
cannot be discussed or analyzed any further by the human race. Doubts about the consciousness of
animals occasionally surfaced even in classical antiquity. Augustine argued that nothing can be
perceived without reason, which is needed to judge and classify sensations,

Compare And Contrast The Hegelian Analysis Of Libido Vs...
The Hegelian understanding of the master–slave dialectic tells us that when two beings that have not
yet achieved self–consciousness come in contact with one another, they engage in a conflict to try to
identify self–consciousness, and the only way to do that is to realize self–consciousness through
comparison with the other person. This conflict between two people leads to a struggle to the death
where one person values life over liberty, and the other values liberty over life, and whoever values
life over liberty thus concedes and is identified as the slave, making the other the master. What this
paper aims to analyze is how we can use the Hegelian master–slave dialectic to understand or
contrast the Freudian analysis of libido versus the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
First, we can associate the master who is extensively discussed by Hegel to the superego theory
discussed by Freud. By doing so, we are giving the superego part of the mind which is in other
words the conscious part of the brain the role of a master. Besides, the master in Hegel's assertions is
considered to have the full consciousness after defeating the other being in the struggle. Similarly,
the slave will be associated to ego and Id; despite the slave playing a pivotal role in the struggle for
freedom just like the ego and id struggles to have full control of the mind, he or she loses the battle
to the master who in turn ends up controlling him. This is explicitly what happens to the Id and the
ego; they are unable to control the mind due their unconsciousness, but the conscious part –
superego – overrides them. Thus, the idea of the slave and the master closely intertwines to the
concept of psychoanalysis as explained by Freud Sigmund. In other words, Freud seemingly
confirms that those who are strong and aware of what they are doing in life, will have full control of
the weak and those who cannot distinguish between what is wrong and what is right. Conclusively,
this discussion has established that several theories are used to explain human existence. This is
evident from the Freud interpretation about what parts of the mind dominate others

Argument Against Higher Order Theories Of Consciousness
Dretske 's quick argument against higher–order theories of consciousness Students Name
Institutional Affiliation Date Dretske 's quick argument against higher–order theories of
consciousness Higher–order theories of consciousness directly state that thoughts, perceptions, and
beliefs follow the first mental orders that that connect to personal consciousness. Mostly, the
perception of something such as visible images represents the initial thought of phenomenal
consciousness. The higher order of theories of consciousness seeks to elaborate the distinct
characteristics of consciousness between the consciousness of a particular state of a question and a
representation of a higher order thought and believe of the same subject state (Carruthers, 2016).
The phenomenal consciousness consists distinctive characteristics that are challenging to explain in
the higher orders theories. The subjective components include properties are challenging since the
subjective aspects involve feelings and personal process to undergo through their mind. According
to the higher order theory of consciousness, the mental feeling, thoughts, and perception people
have in life consciously occur but not always since people sometimes sense things subliminally
hence independent in people consciousness. In the past, philosophers differ in support of the higher–
order theory of consciousness since there are issues that arise in clarifying the difference–conscious
mental state and those that

Being A Mental State Of Awareness
Conscious is thought to be a mental state in which we are able to process information and act on it.
However this term is used to describe a state of awareness while awake whereas there seems to be
varying levels of consciousness that describe most mental states. If information can be perceived
(knowing or unknowingly) then it is likely that you are conscious, e.g. even when in light sleep we
can dream and may even wake up on hearing a loud noise, therefore the brain still processes
information, however in deep sleep this is not the case. When looking at consciousness, there is
what Levine described as the explanatory gap (Levine, 1983). This states that in the present moment
we are not able to provide an explanation for the phenomena that is consciousness however as time
goes on and our knowledge of neuroscience increases this gap will close gradually until it is non–
existent (Block & Young, 1996). However despite this statement being made by Levine around 30
years ago, the explanatory gap still remains although it is clearly beginning to close, we still have
some way to go before we can begin to understand what consciousness is. Consciousness is
inherently a subjective matter as there are many different meanings for the word which are
seemingly thrown around without much thought, there is no way to prove that one normal
experience of consciousness is the same as another (qualia) and we are unable to scientifically
explain conscious experiences. Therefore before we can

Consciousness : The Conscious Mind Essay
Consciousness in Animals The conscious mind is a complex thing that has many questions that
science is yet to answer. The conscious is composed by awareness and responsiveness in one's mind,
it is expressed by one's emotions, thoughts, and actions. Consciousness to me is defined by the
ability to be aware and responsive. Awareness is an element that distinguishes the conscious from
the unconscious. To be aware is to be knowledgeable of your surroundings and to know what is
happening in the world around you. Similar to awareness, the ability to respond to situations or react
is part of consciousness. Responding can be interpreted as emotions, actions, and thoughts, these are
important factors that contribute to the overall concept of consciousness.
As consciousness remains an unsolved mystery to the science world, we know a lot about elements
that make up the consciousness. Some of the elements associated with consciousness is one's unique
thoughts, memories, feelings and sensations. These elements are seen not only in human
consciousness but in animal conscious as well. We are able to study consciousness by observing the
behavior in humans and animals. Observing these actions we are able to see how consciousness
affects the subject 's life in an everyday basis. As we expand our knowledge of consciousness in the
human mind, we question and explore the consciousness in the mind of animals. The big question
here is: Are animals conscious? The abundant amount of studies

The Scientific Revolution, By Owen Barfield
Starting with the Scientific Revolution, humanity has adhered to the supposedly well–reasoned and
infallible rationalist philosophy, characterized by the preference for reasoning over experience,
which inevitably accompanies impersonal fields such as the sciences. Although the scientific
approach avoids preternatural speculation, its implications altered the fundamental way in which we
understand that which is on a quantum level, and such a revelation transcends any reifications
perpetuated by preceding generations. Fortunately, English philosopher Owen Barfield's Saving the
Appearances transcends temporally restricted notions of reality, and this novel serves as a template
by which we begin to comprehend the potential for consciousness as reality's impetus, and through
which individual consciousness acts to create reality. With this in mind, New Age philosophers such
as physician Deepak Chopra advocate consciousness precedes matter's presence in the chronology
of reality. Comparatively, social scientist Willis Harman and, to an extent, biologist Rupert
Sheldrake, adopt a more radical hypothesis: human consciousness creates reality. Presently,
iconoclastic New Age theories suggest human consciousness creates reality and hypothesizes our
ability to manipulate abstracts, such as time and bodily systems, in order to prolong one's life or
increase one's health. Through conscious awareness, we can discern how consciousness creates
reality; this awareness thusly enables us to

Human Consciousness
Human Consciousness
A Portrait of the Brain
Through Theories and Discussion A hemispherectomy is a surgical process in which the brain of a
patient is halved and one of these parts is then removed. The procedure is only ever carried out on
individuals who are very young, as their brains are still flexible, pliable enough that the remaining
portion will then take on the functions of the half that had been removed. Though this process is
rather rare, only carried out when the child in question is experiences dramatic seizures that can only
be halted in this way, it brings a crucial element to the table, far beyond the medical benefit for one.
Hemispherectomies prove that patients can survive with only half of the brain, and thus, if the ...
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The question is the thought behind the idea of Solipsism.
Solipsism is the philosophical belief that the consciousness of one is sure to exist, but the world as
one experiences it, as well as the mind of others, do no exist, as they cannot be known. Stephen P.
Thornton (2014) comments that there is no sound way to prove that our individual reality is true, as
all we have is what is merely perceived as our reality, or in more specific terms, what the brain
perceives. The solipsist can attach no meaning to the supposition that there could possibly be other
thoughts, experiences, and emotions other than his own. In layman's terms, in this definition it is
understood that the word 'pain' refers and means to simply 'my pain' and cannot then accordingly
conceive how this world is applied to any sense other than this "exclusively egocentric" one.
The theory of Solipsism is directly related to the Problem of Other Minds, as Thornton (2014)
explains – which is the inability to justify that near universal belief that the minds of others are very
much like the minds of our own. This delves not only into the thought of psychology, but also into
the regions of philosophy, making it nearly impossibly to study from a purely psychological
perspective. What is known is the experiencing of one's own conscious, but this is found lacking
when one cannot know if another is experiencing the same. In basis, it is the asking if it is possible
for a being to exist as a philosophical

It Is The Greatest Mystery Of All
"How can a three–pound mass of jelly that you can hold in your palm imagine angels, contemplate
the meaning of infinity, and even question its own place in the cosmos? Especially awe inspiring is
the fact that any single brain, including yours, is made up of atoms that were forged in the hearts of
countless, far–flung stars billions of years ago. These particles drifted for eons and light–years until
gravity and change brought them together here, now. These atoms now form a conglomerate– your
brain– that can not only ponder the very stars that gave it birth but can also think about its own
ability to think and wonder about its own ability to wonder. With the arrival of humans, it has been
said, the universe has suddenly become conscious of itself. This, truly, it the greatest mystery of all."
–VS Ramachandran
After the first unit and research paper, the classmates of PSYV 358 learned all about what
consciousness is: how it is defined, different theories of why it exists, its benefits. I specifically
learned that consciousness could ultimately be defined as the state or quality of awareness. It is
often described as an evolved property, one that as far as we are able to define, is unique to humans
at the level of self–consciousness. Going back to Chalmers, and the neuroscientific problems of
consciousness, it could be said that answering 'where is consciousness?' would fall under the
category of the hard problem. Restated from the last research paper, the hard problem is

Is Alan Turing's Ability To Obtain Human Consciousness?
Alan Turing is known to be the father of the modern computer, and the skewed depiction of his
relationship between him and his machine in the "Imitation Game (2015)" displays as to why Alan
Turing may have had a keen interest in the idea of a machine's ability to "obtain" human
consciousness. Alan Turing develops, and presents his Turing Test in his article "Computing
Machinery and Intelligence" that entails having three groups: one of them is the machine, the other
is a human, and the last is a judge who will ask both groups a series of questions to where the judge
will determine who is the human, and who is the machine (Warwick, Shah, 2015.) Consciousness
revolves around being aware of your surroundings, which signals certain moods to take

An Integral Theory Of Consciousness Essay
An Integral Theory of Consciousness and RR Ken Wilber (1997) reviewed various dimensions of
the theories of consciousness in existing literature and proposes an integral theory that will
incorporate most of the prominent existing theories. The theory Wilber proposes is an 'Integral
Theory of Consciousness'. Specifically, he reviews the cognitive science outlooks: introspectionism;
neuropsychology; individual psychotherapy; social psychology; clinical psychiatry; developmental
psychology; problematic medicine views, nonordinary states of consciousness view; eastern and
contemplative tradition; quantum consciousness; subtle energies point of views on the
consciousness state and functions.
After the review, Wilber comes to the conclusion that, "The interior dimensions of the human being
seem to be composed of a spectrum of consciousness" (p. 10). The spectrum, in this instance,
defines conditions or values that vary infinitely within a continuum. In other words, there is a kind
of indefinite transformation, in terms of quality and volume of information between the initial state
and the goal state – within the domain of consciousness. This conclusion by Wilbur has implication
on the complexity of the RR processes, as described by Vervaeke (2012). Furthermore, Vervaeke
even described the initial and the goal state as sometimes unknown within the system (Vervaeke,
2016). The important finding here is that the discovery of the Wilber agrees with the complexity
feature of the

How Does Sartre View Of Human Consciousness
The terms identified helps to articulate how Sartre views human consciousness. The sense of
"forlornness" results from the rejection of all transcendental and totalizing ideas. When Sartre argues
that human beings are "forlorn," he is stressing the idea that they are without any sort of guidance
from transcendent ends. They are trapped with only their sense of freedom present, which brings
about a natural condition of "anguish," in that nothing nor anyone can help to alleviate the pain of
isolation and loneliness, the condition of individual freedom, and more importantly, having to
choose. It is this choice that causes "despair" for nothing can lighten the burden of the agony of
choice. Take, for example, the student to whom Sartre alludes.

Transcending Evolution: The Human Consciousness, or The Soul
The Human Consciousness, or The Soul
In 1838 Charles Darwin wrote in his journal "Man in his arrogance thinks himself a great work
worthy the interposition of a deity. More humble and I think truer to consider him created from
animals". (Rachels, 1990) Daniel C. Dennett refers to Darwin's theory of evolution as a universal
acid, a theory so powerful it seeps through every traditional concept and leaves behind a
revolutionized world–view, resulting not only in a fundamental shift in the way in which we
perceive ourselves as human beings, but more importantly, in the death of God. (Dennett, 1996) The
moral implications of evolution are devastating: to reduce man to a by–product of an algorithmic
process is to say that man is nothing ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
(Mayr, 2001) Ernst Mayr, in his book What Evolution Is, argues that evolution of consciousness
began in the Australopithecus species. These populations survived by using their intellect to invent
successful defense mechanisms against predators for they were no longer capable of climbing up
trees to escape being hunted. Subsequently, H. erectus inherited this need to rely on their
inventiveness to cope with their defenseless position in the highly predatory environment. (Mayr,
2001) It is unknown how the basic necessity of self defense transformed itself into a highly
developed intellect as seen in Homo sapiens today. The only thing that is known is that the H.
sapiens species was better adapted to the environment than the other Homo subspecies since they
are the surviving species. However if we are to believe that the basic necessity of self defense has
the potential to develop into a highly complex intellect, then why is it that other species, such as
deer and rabbits who are forced to rely on their wits to invent successful defense mechanisms, since
they too can not climb up trees, do not develop a highly complex intellect?
Mayr argues that it is the brain that makes us different from other animals, that it is the brain that
makes us human. The brain contains 30 billion nerve cells, and while the electrophysiology of
neurons is mostly understood,

Reality As The Product Of Human Consciousness
PART THREE – REALITY
REALITY AS THE PRODUCT OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
Since the Scientific Revolution, humanity has adhered to a supposedly reasonable rationalist
philosophy–characterized by a preference for reasoning over experience–which inevitably arises in
impersonal fields such as the sciences. Although science avoids preternatural speculation on
principle, quantum theory's implications alter the fundamental way in which we understand what is
at a quantum level, and such a revelation transcends any reifications participated by preceding
generations. Fortunately, English philosopher Owen Barfield's Saving the Appearances transcends
temporal reality, bridging 1965 and 2015, while his book serves as a template through which we
begin to ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Within a given reality, aspects indeed exist independent of human consciousness, but principal
causality belongs to consciousness. In short, society experiences phenomena and, seeking to
understand the world, its members then create representations, which define former unnamed
phenomena. By participating previous generations' representations, society becomes temporally
distanced from its representations' arbitrary nature, and succeeding generations participate those
representations. For this reason, alpha–thinking's generational prominence will result in intermittent
generations deciding that reality exists external to them. At that point, they forget that human
consciousness produces existing representations, which echo society's collective memory.
Compounded with previous generations' reifications, participating current representations lays
idolatry's foundation for subsequent generations. In this way, our idolatries and representations
ascribe historicity to a given reality, which lends a false credibility to that reality. As an example,
those who live in comfortably defined realities easily become complacent and display remarkable
passivity to reality's potential implications, thus ensuring pre–existing paradigmatic reifications will
continue to thrive as present idolatries. Such inactivity in a complacent static society acts to
preserve, but subtly warp

Essay about Mind/Body Problem in Philosophy
Running head: MIND/BODY PROBLEM IN PHILOSOPHY
Mind/Body Problem in Philosophy
Barbara Buchanan
University of Phoenix
Mind/Body Problem in Philosophy The History of Psychology plays a big role in the interest of
Psychology and Philosophy today. Several theories have been developed and refined over the
hundreds of years of history in Philosophy and Psychology. Included in this report will be the
discussion of the realm of the mind and consciousness, the mind and consciousness in relation to the
physical body, and the independence of physical functions of the body through the central nervous
system.
The Realm of Mind and Consciousness It was believed at one time that the mind was a product of
the brain. The mind is a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Descartes believed that nerves were hollow tubes in animal spirits and were the driving forces that
resulted in the movement of muscles in the human body. If one were to stick their hand on a sharp
object, the mind would trigger the animal spirits to perform. The muscles and nerves in the body
were triggered by stimulation that caused the brain to open up and allow the spirits to move through
the nerves involuntarily. Thus the mind is what triggered the animal spirits to perform. Of course,
after Descartes, the microscope was discovered and used to determine that indeed the "tubes" were
not hollow and were indeed controlled by the brain. Our mind receives information and processes
same. There is only one area of our brain that when the body dies, the brain dies with it. Where there
is no thought there is no mind. It is proven that the mind controls by the body. The mind is
dependant on the Nervous system. An example would be the eye. In looking an object, the eye itself,
the nerves and the light are all physical parts of seeing the object. However, seeing the actual object
is subject to consciousness. Our mind must be conscious of the object in our view. If the eye is
closed, the object is no longer visible. Therefore, the mind is dependent of the Central Nervous
System. The Independent Mind Calmness, peace of mind, freedom from anxiety and worry, inner
strength and happiness are

The Human Computer : The Perception, Memories And Emotions...
The human computer The thoughts , perceptions, memories and emotions that make up human
consciousness. Cognition in widest definition encompasses all forms and understanding through
thought, experience, and the senses. Reductionism attempts to explain the processes of living
organism using physical laws usually applied to nonliving objects. David Hume argued that the
knowledge of cause and relationship based on the accumulation of subjective experiences, thus
science explain events in terms of cause and effect, is based on the weakness of subjectivity.
Subjective –a view point that is based on personal experience and opinion Cognitive psychologist
want to work with objective data and one of the commonly used measurements in cognitive studies
is reaction time. Attention provides us with the ability to concentrate on individual band of incoming
information. Cocktail party effect: at a crowded room background noise meaningless babble,
somebody says your name(something that grabs your attention) however, though it is background
noise you hear it distinctly, attention immediately redirected. The brains ability to consciously
process information limits out ability to pay attention, because it cannot cope with too much
information at the same time, but mind is capable in certain circumstances of attending more than
one source of data. The filter theory, sensory filter selects a message for further processing based on
physical characteristics. Such as pitch or

Szymborsk Human Consciousness
Wislawa Szymborska stated "at the very beginning of my creative life I loved humanity. I wanted to
do something good for mankind. Soon I understood that it isn't possible to save mankind" (Anon.,
2016). In a View with a Grain of Sand and Tarsier, Szymborska employs caesuras, irony and similes,
to reveal the significance of the insignificance and its reliance upon human consciousness, for
without the distinction between species, there would exist no superiority or significance of any
being. Szymborska approaches relatively insignificant ordinary objects and creates, yet from her
new perspective, the reality and importance of all things reveals a seemingly harsh truth.
Szymborska views the insignificant as significant, for without the insignificant, ... Show more
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The status of mankind is pertinent within Szymborska's writings, as she criticises humanity's belief
that they are responsible for all the beauty and nature in the world. The endurance of a tarsier is
recognised in "I am a tarsier and a tarsier's son, the grandson and great–grandson of tarsiers"
(Appendix ii). This explicitly states that tarsiers have endured for generations, despite their
perceived insignificance and it almost appears that status is bound in blood. As "Should we die, our
death would proclaim your guilt" (Appendix ii) and "for the purposes I strike to make you smile"
(Appendix ii) shows how humanity permits tarsiers to live, almost as if mankind is seen at the centre
of the world and everything else within that same world, is only significant, if it has relevance to
mankind. Through the use of a caesura, "I, a tarsier, know how essential it is to be a tarsier"
(Appendix ii) displays the certainty of tarsiers and their purpose within the world, regardless of their
perceived limitations. "My coat's too small for a fur collar" (Appendix ii) meek or expressing anger
at ironic observation as the reason he's alive is his death serves no purpose to mankind. Overall,
Tarsier reflects humanity's position in the world as mankind's domination, arrogance and deceit of
the strong, yet a tarsier still has dignity and the stubborn persistence of

Human Freedom, Consciousness, And Reality
Human Freedom, Consciousness, and Reality There are a number of situations in which reasonable
minds can disagree. Businesses normally face such situations. For example, a company situated in
country A may be selling clothes from country C. It happens that the media has been criticizing the
company for selling products, which are believed to be produced by children. Suppose the company
conducts research and find out that the clothes it is selling are made by children. The investigations
also shows that it is not the girls fault nor is the company's fault to have the girls who are still young
employed in such a company. It also shows that the society does not educate girls beyond the sixth
grade. To worsen the situation,, the researcher found that the society is poor and cannot provide the
basic needs to the young girls. The respondent reveals "if you shut this plant down, you will literally
take food off the table for these families and that there are no other opportunities in the town." This
means that preventing the employment of young girls would cause more problems than improve
their situation. On the other hand, laws from country A may prohibit the child labor. Some thinkers
may believe that the young children should be allowed to go to school. This is because it is their
legal rights. However, if legal measures are taken and that the girls are prevented from working in
the factory, it will not assist them but instead cause more problems. For example, forcing them to

The Influence Of John Locke On Personal Identity
According to John Locke the question "what are you?" is personal identity. As for what personal
identity is Locke states, "depends on consciousness, not on substance" or a soul (John Locke: An
Essay Concerning Human Understanding). Locke seems to define memories as the source of a
consciousness in his chapter of Identity and Diversity. In addition, Locke believes that
consciousness is independent from all substances, but cannot exist independently without a body or
a mind. However, that doesn't mean that consciousness is confined to a particular body or mind. For
example, in Locke's Chapter XXVII Of Identity and Diversity states, "Upon separation of this little
finger, should this consciousness go along with the little finger, and leave the rest of the body, it is
evident the little finger would be the person, the same person; and self then would have nothing to
do with the rest of the body.". Locke asserts that this applies to all parts of the body. This would
suggest that if a person fell into a coma, they would be dead according to lock. As they no longer
have any awareness or can access their memories. Unless somehow the person's consciousness
could be inserted into another individual. For example, if the person in ... Show more content on
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Alzheimer's is a severe form of dementia that gradually eradicates a person's cognitive abilities. The
symptoms include loss of memory, disorientation, mood swings, and behavioral issues. As
Alzheimer's progresses the victim begins to lose control of their bodily functions such as eating,
walking, sitting up, and going to the bathroom by their self (7 Stages of Alzheimer's Disease and
What They Look Like). Consequently, Lock's ideology would not declare them as a person because
they can no longer recall their memories. If they are no longer a person than human rights do not
apply to them anymore, which could result in

Can Artificial Consciousness be Possible?
Can artificial consciousness be possible? In other words, can a machine be conscious and have the
same behavior as a human. Artificial consciousness or also can be referred as machine
consciousness are machines created by humans that are programmed to have artificial intelligence in
the machine's system. This means that machines are programmed to have the intelligence as a
human. However, would it be possible for humans to create a machine that is programmed to have
the ability to think, feel, and behave like humans? Through explanations and opinions, philosophers
Alan Turing and John Searle give their thoughts if artificial consciousness is possible. Alan Turing
was a British philosopher who wrote the paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" that
discusses about artificial intelligence and the Turing test. In the paper, Alan Turing believes that
machines could think however it is complicated to determine if machines or programmed digital
computers have that ability to think just like humans. "If the meaning of the words machine and
think are to be found by examining how they are commonly used it is difficult to escape the
conclusion that the meaning and the answer to the question" (Turing 1). According to Alan Turing,
he questions if machines can have the ability to think. In order to determine that machines can think,
he tested it by having a machine play the imitation game where a machine has to emulate the
behavior of a human. In this game, the interrogator asks

Personal Identity : The Vehicle Of Consciousness
Introduction I will be arguing that the essential component of personal identity is the not the vehicle
of consciousness, but rather the collection of experiences, personality traits, and ethical beliefs,
individual hold. I will show that though the vehicle of consciousness may be a substantial visual and
sentimental sense of the self, it is not as necessary experiences and personality traits to the extent of
personal identity being present and maintained through space and time. Who am I? Individuals have
a sense of who he or she is. For example, I am a male human who is 20 years old. I have blue eyes
and brown hair. I have experiences and memories of past experiences. I have a collection of beliefs,
ethics, memories that have given me a ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
However, this is not the whole sense of who we feel like we are. It is true that we feel that these
aspects are inherently important though there is a sense of a deeper sense of what makes you the
human different than all other humans in a non–trivial way. This version of an individual is the
essence of their being, or the self. The self is the non–biological internal aspect of the human. This
may be considered consciousness and all the things that are thought to be a part of consciousness,
however the self isn't necessarily synonymous to consciousness. Consciousness is not the result of
your environment effects, though the self is sculpted through interactions with your surrounding
environment and other individuals. This, as stated earlier, is done through the compiling of
memories, beliefs, and ethics, as well as character traits. Beliefs, ethics and character traits are all
derived by taking interactions experienced with others or interactions witnessed between two or
more other individuals and form emotions to these interactions. Additionally, these emotions are
used to form memories. Although these attached emotions do not directly cause memories, the
memories of the emotion attached to some interaction is the basis of how an individual feel about
what is true or false, right or wrong, and ultimately shapes their

Discussion Of Honderich's Argument
The discussion was between Ted Honderich, a Professor of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic, and
Sir Roger Penrose, a physicist and mathematician. Honderich put forward the argument that to be
aware of the world is that it exists. Penrose's perception of consciousness it isn't ordinary
electrochemical processes activity in the brain but it is a feature of the brain's activity and that it is
not localised. Honderich expressed that he thinks consciousness is related to the brain and the
microtubules as being conscious is linked there being activity in the brain. He went on to say that
consciousness consists of an existence of a world which has particular dependence on the perceiver
and that for all of them to think of being conscious one of the ... Show more content on
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Culturally this view has been expressed in many forms of media like films or books where humans
are manipulating the essence of life and manufacturing it into a product like conscious robots that
have consequently caused havoc in the world and I feel that those films are a dire foreshadowing of
what is to come if science continues to experiment in areas like

Emergence of Human Consciousness and Its Future
Emergence of Human Consciousness and Its Future Emergence of Human Consciousness and the
Future Introduction The emergence of human consciousness is a highly debated subject matter.
Some people argue that either consciousness existed in other human beings, or it emerged at some
instance during the process of evolution. It is pertinent to note that the proponents of the idea of
emergence of consciousness during evolution believe that it was one of the adaptive features
developed by humans in order to survive in the changing environment. This has been the most
common view. Human consciousness is an integral section defining the abilities of a human being.
As an adaptive feature in human beings, consciousness has a number of roles necessary for human
survival. Adaptability in human beings is an outcome of the struggle to survival in a dynamic
environment. The conventional theory on the emergence of consciousness is the development of a
complex neural network in the brain. This is related to the pattern of the neural networks in the
brain. However, within this theory, there are subsets of thoughts that explain the synchronous
oscillations in the neural networks. With evidence, this study will seek to show the superior and
complex nature of human consciousness compared to other organisms (Rychlak, 1997). Are humans
the only conscious beings? A number of scholars have answered this question in the past. It has been
argued that animals such as cows and dogs are only aware of

Nitrous Oxide
After James began to consider the possible different explanations for the ambiguities that exist in
human consciousness, he began to experiment with drugs, specifically nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide
is a chemical that is more commonly known at laughing gas that is used most commonly in dental
offices and it is a substance that alters the conscious state of a person. In an article published in 1996
in the Atlantic, Dmitri Tymoczko explores the often unknown influence of Nitrous Oxide on the
thought of James. Unbeknown to most people, James began to experiment with this drug while he
was trying to uncover the secrets of human consciousness. In an article published by James
anonymously in The Atlantic Monthly in 1874, James argued that "the secrets ... Show more content
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The ASPR was founded in 1885 by a distinguished group of scholars one of which who was William
James. Furthermore, many well–known and well–regarded scientists were a part of this society
including both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, both of which were interested in the human conscious
and subconscious. According to their modern website, the original goal established by the ASPR
was to "investigate hypnosis, dreams, the states of consciousness to telepathy, clairvoyance,
recognition, psychokinesis, healing, and questions of survival after death" ("About the Society").
Basically, their goal was to study these ambiguous, out of the ordinary occurrence as to come up
with a conclusion on their existence. James was an active member of the ASPR and after he was
elected president he stated that he believed "we (the ASPR) have restored continuity to history. We
have shown some reasonable basis for the most superstitious aberrations of the foretime. We have
bridged the chasm, healed the hideous rift that science, taken in a certain narrow way, was shot into
the human world'" ( qtd. In Alverado,"William

Cinematic Thought Experiments Of The Living Dead
"Cinematic Thought Experiments of the Living Dead"
Philosophical conceptions of consciousness represented through the zombie film The zombies that
George R. Romero showcases in Night of the Living Dead (1968) now dominate the film industry as
the prototype for the undead: the mindless corpse that is void of its prior consciousness. And the
preferred food source of the undead has become like law for any pop–culture universe about
zombies–even undead superheroes will eat people in the comic books from the Marvel Zombies
series. As the prototypical zombie thought experiment, the Night of the Living Dead allows the
audience to confidently respond to any questions about the undead's identity, actions, or morality by
referring to that void of ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Romero's Mindless Undead I initiate the discourse on the purpose of consciousness by first
introducing Night of the Living Dead, as an effort to reveal an intuitive claim as a running theme of
the movie: consciousness is what distinguishes me from the living dead. Romero's Night of the
Living Dead can teach us about what our assumptions on the purpose of higher consciousness by
having it be the root feature that distinguishes the living from the undead. When Johnny dies and his
corpse comes back from the local cemetery, the consciousness of his mind is left behind–there
remains only emptiness inside the zombie. As his consciousness vanishes, so does the person that
we used call Johnny–the corpse itself is now just a mindless shell. The Romero zombie comes back
as completely subject to the zombie law of nature; leaving behind the mind, all that they can do is
what a zombie does–and all zombies devour. The absolute mindlessness that characterizes the
zombies in Romero's creation, reflects on the idea, that, a free–acting human being can be reduced
to nothing more than a mindless corpse by stripping away their consciousness. Also apparent in the
Night of the Living Dead, is the assumption, that, it is from consciousness that I claim to have an
identity, to act on reasons and to rise above my innate instincts–all of which are concepts

The Human Nature Of Consciousness Essay
"Of all the objects in the universe, the human brain is the most complex. There are as many neurons
in the brain as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy.", a quote from an issue of a Discover
magazine article. But what comes from this complexion? The answer is thought. Consciousness has
been quarreled between writers, scientists, priests, atheists and everyone in between. The priest says
it is divine and cannot be explained, the atheist says no – it's evolution. The writer romanticizes it,
creating characters that contain the free will of the author but have more unrealistic complexion than
any real human character. Scientists explain that we are in a state of awareness and that
consciousness cannot be entirely explained as it is subjective and objectively, it cannot be measured.
Human existence has transcended from being a simple organism living with survival instincts:
hunting and gathering food for our kin, to working boring jobs to feed the family and to have just
enough leisurely time to assure yourself not to jump off the nearest building to end it all. The
question is – can an organism become complex enough to consciously choose what they believe is
morally right with free will. Do we live for others or ourselves? Does consciousness actually exist
and how do we prove it?
For many, memory is the proof of consciousness, as well as being proof of life. History, being
observed as it's definition, is ultimate proof that humans can think, are thinking, and will think,

Affoding Introspection: An Alternative Model Of Human...
The human consciousness is a critical part of life, and a well studied topic in psychology. While the
exact reasons for consciousness are still unknown, the effects of a consciousness have been
researched extensively. I've always been interested in consciousness and the evolution from just
practicality to a deeper level of feeling and why self awareness developed. Consciousness plays a
key role in psychology, as being self aware allows for critical thinking as well as fast learning.
Affording Introspection: An Alternative Model of Inner Awareness by Tom McClelland provides a
look at phenomenology, or the study of consciousness in relation to experience, as well as the
Ubiquity of Inner Awareness thesis, the proof in favor of it, and the skeptical

The Early Development Of Human Consciousness
The early development of human consciousness seems to have given humans a genetic
predisposition to the belief in religion. During this early development many chemicals known as
entheogens were used during religious sacraments and ceremonies, especially during times when
religion was undergoing critical stages of development. Once early humans could communicate
concepts effectively they utilized experiences derived from such substances in the integration of
theological belief systems.
Describing psychoactive substances without using a word that has a negative connotation attached
to it can be difficult. In an effort to combat this problem, a committee under the chairmanship of
Carl Ruck described "after trying out a number of words he came up with entheogen, 'god generated
within', which his committee unanimously adopted" (Wasson 30). Psychoactive substances, or
entheogens, have been researched for years by scientists, however, research into their historical
significance is severely limited. The origin of religion cannot simply be looked at through the
perspective of entheogens, there are many factors associated with it which spread multiple fields.
Science, sociology, history, archeology, psychology, chemistry and botany all cross over when
researching this subject.
James McClenon has argued that the conceptions of religion have their origins in the evolution of
psychophysiological structures associated with hypnotizability. If one is susceptible to a hypnotic
trance

Consciousness Is The Subjective Perception Of The Self Essay
Consciousness has been referred to as ''the hard problem'' and still remains to be one of the most
baffling conundrums of our generation. Consciousness is the subjective perception of the self.
Consciousness allows us to feel happy, to solve problems, and to create memories.
Consciousness has historically laid beyond the confines of science. Rene Descartes, a French
philosopher, laid down the foundation of the study of consciousness by reflecting on what it meant
to be conscious. Descartes was the one who introduced the idea of the mind as separate from the
body, otherwise known as Cartesian Dualism. Descartes' several theories sparked major controversy
and discussion about consciousness. During the twentieth century, consciousness was seen as a
taboo because usage of the word became overused and there was no precise way to describe it, so
the word was 'banned'. Consciousness is a psychological construct because of its difficulty to be
observed and measured, which is why it can easily be seen as a taboo. Consciousness has gradually
became easier to define, and because it is now accepted in the world of science, it has begun to
address some of the most challenging questions of our time.
Since consciousness is now at the forefront of neuroscientific research , neuroscientists are able to
address daunting questions like that of vegetative patients and whether they are conscious, how to
diagnose these patients, and whether or not there are therapeutic interventions available,

Consciousness Arguments Against Turing's Test
The consciousness argument is the strongest objection against the Turing's test. Machines act by
interpreting symbols based on given rules. If they follow rules and interprets symbols, then the
programmers influence their actions, not their own thoughts and feelings. Since their own thoughts
and feelings do not influence their actions, they are not truly aware of how these actions can affect
their emotions and the surroundings. If machines are not aware of their behaviors, they are not
conscious. Without consciousness, machines cannot have minds. Therefore, the Turing's test is not
sufficient to prove that machines can think. Turing doesn't respond directly to each premises of this
argument, instead he responds to its conclusion that machines are not conscious. To begin with,
Turing follows the consciousness objection's line of thought and states that the only possible method
to know if a machine can think or not is to literally become that machine. Similarly, the only
possible method to know if a person can think or not is to literally be that person. According to
Turing, these statements represent the perspective of solipsism, the ... Show more content on
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The machines can now give oral responses instead of written responses, also known as a "viva
voce". Humans conclude that they have conscious through their conversations about feelings. If
humans can conclude through that method, then it is possible for machines to do it too (?). If a
machine can have intelligent conversation with the judges about its work or creation, then that
machine is aware of its action. If a machine is aware of its action, then it is conscious which also
means it has a mind. Lastly, Turing believes that the concept of consciousness is not relevant to his
question about whether a machine can pass the imitation game. The result of the test is not affected
by consciousness

Sartre's Conception Of Human Consciousness
A question that continues to puzzle scholars (and Honors students, alike) is that of what defines
human consciousness. It would be simple to say that it is defined by one's awareness of itself and of
its surroundings. What makes the question so difficult to answer, though, is that consciousness is
much more than an acute awareness; it is the process of becoming aware, finding the purpose of our
consciousness, and building morals and intelligence from that awareness that entangles those who
search for answers in a web of utter confusion. In beginning my search for the understanding of
consciousness, I chose to look into the thoughts and beliefs of Karl Marx and Jean–Paul Sartre.
Marx and Sartre are similar in their philosophy in that ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Starting with Sartre's existentialist point of view, consciousness is defined as being–for–itself. When
we are for–itself, we recognize our consciousness, but also understand that we are incomplete
(SparkNotes Editors, 2005). This notion of being–for–itself is what makes clear Sartre's belief that
existence proceeds essence; we aren't born with innate traits, but rather, we create our
consciousness. We are free to choose how we will interpret our surroundings, what we will believe,
and what type of personality we wish to have in accordance to those beliefs and interpretations.
Sartre further explains that this freedom comes with heavy responsibility. Once we make a choice,
we cannot make excuses for ourselves or put the blame on someone or something else if the choice
turns sour or ends up being faulty; when we accept the freedom, we accept the full responsibility,
too. If we fail to take up this responsibility and live dishonestly about inevitabilities, such as death,
or possibilities, we are living in "bad faith", as Sartre says. On the other hand, to live in good faith is
to understand and acknowledge that control of the outside world is not in our hands, yet to still take
the responsibility and freedom of choices that we have over ourselves. Living nobly in good faith
may be what is troubling about existentialism to some people, especially those who are religious. I
believe that Sartre feels that humans are innately good and have the

The Impact Of Consciousness On Modern Day Psychology
The study of consciousness in modern day psychology is becoming increasingly difficult to explain.
In the early days of consciousness studies it may have been explained as our experience or
awareness (Blackmore, 2010). However, over a number of years, there have been many
psychologists who have contributed many important theories towards the explanation of how
consciousness works, and its initial existence. As Chalmers states: "There is nothing that we know
more intimately than conscious experience, but there is nothing harder to explain" (Chalmers, 1995
p.200). Being one of the leading philosophers in consciousness, David Chalmers introduced the idea
of the Hard Problem in 1994. Chalmers defined the hard problem as: "The questions of how
physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective experience" (Chalmers, 1995 p.63). Chalmers
suggested that he found it difficult to understand how a small mass of grey matter such as the brain
could produce conscious experience. These ideas of a 'hard problem' in consciousness were rejected
by a number of theorists, which will be discussed later in the essay. Another idea which Chalmers
has put forward is the zombie. A zombie, according to Chalmers is a being identical to you and I,
speaks like you, acts like you, but is not conscious (Blackmore, 2010). A zombie contains no qualia
(a physical conscious experience). The idea of the zombie put forward by Chalmers is extremely
important in the explanation of consciousness and has been

Psychoactive Drugs And Its Effects On Human Consciousness
A psychoactive drug is any substance that can be used to change brain function. This resulting
change is responsible for alterations in perception, mood, and consciousness. As long as man has
had a basic grasp on understanding consciousness they have tried delving deeper and deeper into
their own consciousness and not only grown a larger respect for just how deep they can go but have
had experiences that have encouraged them to go deeper. Rock paintings and fossil finds from as far
back as 10,000 years ago offer scientific evidence and proof of the extremely long and exciting
history of psychedelic drugs. Unfortunately it wouldn't be until the 20th century that we would
actually start to understand just how valuable and versatile these substances truly would be. From
religious and spiritual uses to medicinal and more, psychoactive drugs, particularly ones more in the
realm of psychedelics, are more important to learning and understanding our own consciousness
than we can even understand.
Terence McKenna, an American philosopher who focused on the nature of consciousness and the
relationship between consciousness and psychedelic drugs, was a firm believer that the nature of
consciousness and the evolution of man was all owed to the incorporation of psychedelic
mushrooms into the early mans diet. He believes that the psychedelics in their diet are what
promoted self–realization and eventually prompted our earliest ancestors to develop language.
Archaeologists credit the use

Human Beings Possess A Distinct Consciousness
Feuerbach first says that since human beings have religion and animals don't, there must be
something that human beings possess that essentially differentiates them from animals. Human
beings possess a distinctive consciousness which he calls "species consciousness" that animals don't
possess. In other words, a man that possesses a "species–consciousness" he is capable to take its
own essential nature as an object of thought. In addition, the human individual has the capacity of
thought which means that he can engage himself in an internal dialogue and thus the human
individual stands a relation to his species. When a human being is conscious of himself as a human,
he is also conscious that he is a being that is able to feel, to think and to will. In other words, the
three mental faculties that Feuebarch identifies as crucial in the development of Christian
consciousness are reason, will and affection. Furthermore, reason, will and affection are absolute
perfections of the human. However, they are not powers that human beings possess, they are rather
"constituent elements of his nature". For example, those constituent of the human beings manifest
themselves when an individual is moved by the emotions expressed by music; when an individual
feels the desire to gain knowledge; when the conscience of an individual dictates him to moderate
his desires in order to avoid limiting other's freedom.
Moreover, the human individual recognizes himself as an intellectually, morally,

Thom Gunn’s In the Tank
Thom Gunn's In the Tank – A Manifestation of the Human Consciousness
A thorough analysis of subject material and literary style exhibits the complexity of establishing a
strong thematic base, which does not deter from the ebb and flow of a poetic medium . In Thom
Gunn's In the Tank, a felon is overwhelmed by emotion at the state of his existence in prison. In
what appears to be a moment's reflection, Thom Gunn's narrator in In the Tank reveals an abundance
of sentiment pertaining to his environment. From meticulous description of the prison environment,
to the exasperated feeling of loneliness and dejection, Gunn lures an audience into a seeming first–
hand account of prison–life.
However, a broader subject matter lay hidden in ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Thus being established, literary devices are used in the description of the 'tank.'
The second stanza of Tank begins with a course of alliteration that is both an enlightening and
confusing commentary on the poem. "The cell was clean and cornered, and contained" (line 5).
Upon a visual appreciation of the line, "c" is repeated four times. However, when the line is spoken
out loud, "cell" is pronounced with a soft 'se' while "clean and cornered, and contained" are
pronounced with a hard 'k' sound. Gunn's use of adjectives to describe the "man's" surroundings are
proof of the figurative difference between a "cell" and a "tank." A "cell" is what the institution gives
an inmate. It is exactly what Gunn has described it as: "clean and cornered, and contained." A
"tank," relatively speaking, is a continuation of the cell, beyond what the institution issues. The
word "cell" acts as a façade for the true definition of the word (the "clean and cornered and
contained" aspect of the cell). The "cell," in turn, is a part of the inmate's consciousness through
exposure and constant scrutiny of surroundings and becomes 'the tank.' The use of the past tense
indicates the flow of events from a "cell" to a "tank." "The cell was clean and cornered and
contained." Granted, the "cell" was all these, but what has the 'tank' become? After all, the
environment is described as "the felon's tank" in line one. Again, an insinuation of

Human Consciousness Essay
Human Consciousness
Erich Fromm and Shirley Jackson have both written wonderful true–life affecting essays and should
be awarded for them. I appreciate both stories and feel they both set tales to learn from and live by.
As a combined theme for both I 'ld say "human consciousness is more then a gift". And read on to
see what I mean.
In Erich Fromm we notice a compassionate concern for the unfolding of life. Fromm claims that
"the growing process of the emergence of the individual from his original ties, a process which we
may call 'individuation,' seems to have reached its peak in modern history in the centuries between
the Reformation and the present." Of course, the beginning of change is not the cause of all our
problems but it ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
Being set in your own way doesn't necessary have to be bad? Just imagine, if the tradition was
something more positive that promote life rather than destroy it. Traditions, rituals are made from
rules established. The rules could be rules of a home, a city, county, state or nation. Then again
imagination can do wonders and living life is just part of nature. And that's where Fromm brings our
attention to "living life". He states that although the animals are living within nature, they at the
same time going above it and are conscious of themselves. Which I think is very true. Setting
themselves over against nature they have lost their unity and feel unbearably alone, lost, and
powerless. This same process can be seen in the development of individual human beings. Each of
us initially feels at one with our environment, but then becomes gradually more aware of our
individuality. Fromm determines, therefore, that "on the one side of the growing process of
individuation is the growth of self–strength," but on the other side of this process is a "growing
aloneness."
Then again with Jackson's story one has to gaze from a distance. At first glance, one would think by
reading "The Lottery," that it was to tell of someone's great chance of fortune. After all it begins
with the setting of a beautiful day. The

Human Emotion And Its Effect On Human Consciousness
The purpose of life, to some degree, is to seek happiness and to seek out other people to achieve that
happiness. Sigmund Freud developed this idea, which is known as the pleasure principle, claiming
to explain that the human consciousness and subconsciousness revolve around this idea. If someone
is isolated, then they will try to alleviate that suffering in one way or another. Human emotion is
reduced to extremely simple terms, unlike what they truly are, which is extremely complex. The
idea of reducing humans to such a simple understanding seems unfair, but it carries a sense of truth
to it. Every person on Earth is seeking for pleasure, and it carries truth because no person
appreciates the feeling of unpleasantness. Isolation is a defense method against the world to seek
pleasure and to avoid unpleasant feelings in life. Freud believes that everyone attempts to get away
from things that cause us pain and suffering and that everyone feels suffering as a result of society,
but the way people attempt to alleviate this suffering defines us as a person.
Two people could be faced with the death of a close relative, but the one who alleviates his suffering
through drugs is very different from the one who alleviates his suffering through burying himself in
his work. The exploration of Freud's ideas through different characters of the two stories, "Sonny's
Blues" and Ceremony, reveal that Freud's principles regarding human nature are not the basis for all
human life. "Sonny's

Human Consciousness
Before one can establish a morally permissible approach to creating an artificial human–like
intelligence, the origin of human consciousness must be determined in order to find a viable method
of recreation. It would then become evident that problem of morality in conscious machines lies not
in the method of its construction, as it is the necessary means to an end, but the act of creation itself
as well as the "upbringing" of the machine comparable to that of a human being.
Prior to the development of consciousness, according to Julian Jaynes, was the structure known as
the bicameral mind. He argued that the cognitive function of a human being was vastly different
before the end of the second millennium bc: the right hemisphere was responsible ... Show more
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This leaves people with a practical limitation: what we call consciousness would have to derive
from within the human cognitive functions. Arthur Koestler has boiled the process of creation down
to a mechanical system he termed "bisociation", in which two previously unrelated matrices of
experience are combined, and a new understanding of a situation is established. As Archimedes
cried eureka, the common occurrence of the water rising was combined with the problem he was
tasked to solve, and so came the solution of the displacement of water should be of equal volume as
the crown. What Koestler hadn't expected, however, is the ubiquitous nature far beyond what he
proposed. At birth, the human brain knows only the basic biological instincts necessary for survival.
But as it grows, new knowledge and experiences are accumulated to form a fundamental baseline
for the bisociation process. Considering the variables involved in even the simplest of real–life
circumstances, it is unrealistic to expect any one portion of the baseline to resemble the situation
exactly. This baseline, therefore, can only define a standardized version of situations and the
appropriate reactions associated with it. The process of bisociation is then necessary for the
improvisation of a response in accordance. Unlike Jaynes' theory that

The Absolute Ego
During this paper I will discuss Fichte's ideas on the absolute ego and how it pertains to the idea of
God. I will also discus the similarities and also the differences between Fichte and Smakra as
outlined by Lewis. I will then conclude with my remarks and thoughts upon the subject matter.
Fichte was an idealist. This is the belief that nothing is known to us except ideas. Since this was the
belief of Fichte he avoided dualism and instead believed that only that which is in and for
consciousness can be assumed to exist. Fichte thus proceeded to explain experience as the product
of intelligence in itself. This idea of intelligence in itself is the ego. To understand this further we
must "think the wall", once you think the wall then think of the person who thought the wall, and
thus you could go on indefinitely. This shows that no matter how we try to objectify the self there
always remains the pure ego. Furthermore, all can intellectually intuit the pure ego. This is further
explained that anyone who is conscious of an action as his own is aware of himself acting. Once
someone recognizes that an action is their own, the person is able to reflect on their self
consciousness and will realize that they can intuit the pure ego as an infinite activity. The pure ego
itself is not conscious; the pure ego becomes conscious through the philosophers activity directed
towards the pure ego as an activity. Once this occurs the pure ego posits itself. This pure ego is

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