Consciousness as a structure by studying the role of Attention: An Ontological study

Authors

  • Sarisa Khani BSc Student in Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj branch, Sanandaj, Iran
  • Mahan Saedi BSc Student in Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj branch, Sanandaj, Iran

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63053/ijrel.17

Keywords:

Consciousness, Attention, Formal ontology, Working memory, Awareness

Abstract

Introduction: Consciousness has always been the focus of various theorists. Most of these theories have looked at consciousness as a single and indivisible entity. In this research, an attempt has been made to provide a structure and model for consciousness according to the mechanisms and components related to it (attention, working memory, senses, awareness, and quality) and also according to the basics of neuroscience. Methods: In this research, which is an ontological study. With various analyzes and arguments, it has been tried to provide a structure for consciousness within the framework of Husserl's formal ontology. Results: The results of the arguments and analyzes of this research showed us that working memory helps to form the content of consciousness by processing information as well as encoding information in working memory. Working memory also makes us aware of part of our inputs by directing the attention mechanism. Finally, our direct experience and subjectivity from this continuous flow of information leads to the emergence of consciousness as a set of qualities. Conclusion: Consciousness as a whole has parts. The presented model for consciousness shows that consciousness has levels and one of these levels is conscious attention. Also, consciousness has informational content (our processed information) as well as experiential content (qualia).

References

Allport, D. A. (1993). Attention and performance, In Attention and control: Have we been asking the wrong question? A critical review of twenty-five years, Vol. XIV., edited by D. E., Meyer, S. M., Kornblum. The MIT Press, London.

Baars, B. J. (1997). Consciousness versus attention, perception and working memory, Consciousness and Cognition, Vol 6, Issues 2-3, p. 363-371.

Baars, B. J., Gage, N. M. (2010). Cognition, Brain and Consciousness: Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience, 2nd Edition, ELSEVIER.

Baddeley, A. D., Hitch, G. (1974). Working Memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation. Bower GH (ed.). Vol 2, Academic Press, pp. 47–89.

Banich, M. T., Compton, R. J. (2018). Cognitive Neuroscience, 4th Edition, Cambridge University Press.

Cowan, N. (2008). Chapter 20 What are the differences between long-term, short-term, and working memory? Essence of Memory. Progress in Brain Research. Vol. 169. pp. 323–338.

De Weerd, P. (2003). Attention, neural basis of. In L. Nadel (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, Vol. 3, pp. 408-414, Nature Publishing Group, London.

Eysenck, M. W., Keane, M. T. (2015). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook, 7th Edition, Psychology Press.

Farthing, G. W. (1992). The Psychology of Consciousness. Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Hacker, P. M. S., (2012). The Sad and Sorry History of Consciousness: being, among other things, a Challenge to the ‘Consciousness-studies Community’. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, Volume 70, pp. 149 - 168.

Husserl, E. (1900/1901). Logische Untersuchungen, 1st ed., Halle: Niemeyer, 1900/01, 2nd ed., 1913/21. Findlay's English translation of the 2nd ed. (Logical Investigations, London: Routledge, 1970).

James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology, 1st Edition, Holt, New York.

Laureys, S., Tononi, G. (2009). The Neurology of Consciousness: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuropathology, 1st Edition, ELSEVIER.

Levin, E. S. (2011). Working Memory: Capacity, Developments and Improvement Techniques. Nova Science Publisher, New York, Inc.

Locke, J. (1689). An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Chapter XXVII). University of Adelaide, Australia. Retrieved August 20, 2010.

Miyake, A., Shah, P. (1999). Models of working memory: Mechanisms of Active Maintenance and Executive Control. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Nobre, A. C., Kastner, S. (2014). (Eds.); The Oxford Handbook of Attention, 1st Edition, Oxford University Press.

Pashler, H. (1998). Attention, 1st Edition, Psychology Press.

Posner, M. (2011). Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention, 2nd Edition, Guilford Press, New York.

Rowlands, M. (2001). The Nature of Consciousness, 1st Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Smith, B. (1982). (ed.), Parts and Moments. Studies in Logic and Formal Ontology, Munich: Philosophia, reprinted 2001.

Smith, B. (1989). "Logic and Formal Ontology", in J. N. Mohanty and W. McKenna, eds., Husserl's Phenomenology: A Textbook, University Press of America, Lanham, pp. 29-67.

Smith, B. (1998). Basic concepts of formal ontology. In Nicola Guarino (ed.), Formal Ontology in Information Systems. IOS Press. pp. 19-28.

Sternberg, R. J., Sternberg, K. (2016). Cognitive Psychology, 7th Edition, Wadsworth Publishing.

Styles, E. A. (2006). The Psychology of Attention, 2nd Edition, Psychology Press.

Taylor, M. J., Baldeweg, T. (2002). Application of EEG, ERP and intracranial recordings to the investigation of cognitive functions in children, Developmental Science, 5(3), p. 318-334.

Van Gulick, R. (2004). Consciousness. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Ward, J. (2020). The Student’s Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience, 4th Edition, A Psychology Press Book.

Weiten, S. (2013). Variations in psychology, 9th Edition, Wadsworth, New York, pp. 281–282.

Wilkes, K. (1988). Yishi, duh, um, and consciousness, Consciousness in contemporary science, edited by A. Marcel, E. Bisiach, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Zelazo, P. D., Moscovitch, M., Thompson, E. (2007). The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness, 1st Edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Published

2024-03-01

How to Cite

Khani, S., & Saedi, M. (2024). Consciousness as a structure by studying the role of Attention: An Ontological study. International Journal of Advanced Research in Humanities and Law, 1(2), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.63053/ijrel.17

Issue

Section

Articles