Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
Mind-Body Perspectives Intersection with Theories of Consciousness
Cognition is embodied when it largely depends on the characteristics of the agent’s physical body. This is possible, provided that certain aspects of the agent’s body play an important causal or physically constitutive role in cognitive processes, in addition to the brain (Adams, 2019). Basically, the positions prevailing in the philosophy of consciousness and cognitive science concerning understanding the nature of mind and cognition assign a secondary role to the body. Proponents of embodied cognitive science view this as a serious mistake (Adams, 2019).
Sometimes the nature of the dependence of cognition on the body turns out to be completely unexpected, and it suggests to researchers new ways of understanding and studying the mechanisms of cognitive processes (Sullivan, 2018). Traditional cognitive science has conceptualized the main cognitive processes, which we will call cognition in a narrow sense, considered separately from the bodily mechanisms of sensory information processing and motor control. Research programs in artificial intelligence are an excellent example of such a view of cognition in a narrow sense, but they also turn out to be one of the most obvious targets for embodied cognitive science (Adams, 2019). More specifically, embodied cognitive science seeks to understand the full range of perceptual, cognitive, and motor abilities inherent in humans as abilities that depend on the characteristics of the physical body.
Human and Octopus consciousness
The brain of an octopus and the brain of vertebrates have different anatomy, but at the same time, they support many similar functions. It includes the formation of short-term and long-term memory, sleep, and the ability to recognize individuals and explore objects through games and tools (Mather, 2021). Consciousness is a subject’s ability to perceive the world around him, analyze the information received, respond to external influences, memorize the information received, and based on it, carry out vital activities aimed at satisfying his physical and spiritual needs.
The human consciousness should be considered from metaphysical monism, while the octopus is from the field of epiphenomenalism. Man’s striving for spiritual perfection and his spiritual search were inextricably linked by metaphysics with the pursuit of transcendental values (Kotchoubey, 2018). They relate to the sphere of the absolute spirit and are only indirectly related to the subject-transformative activity of a person. There is no need for any definition of consciousness since the content of this concept depends on the understanding and interpretation of the interaction and difference between objective and subjective spirit.
From the point of view of the theories of the human self, it can be considered a strange loop since people have several characteristics that distinguish them from other beings and computers. In this case, it is possible to realize one’s own “self, ” which an octopus cannot achieve (Mather, 2021). It does not follow from this that the octopus has no consciousness, but it is unlike humans one (Mather, 2021). It can be much less integrated into a single well-defined scene or even represent a multitude of partial consciousnesses in one body.
Based on the above, it can be argued that human consciousness can be viewed from the theory of global workspace and octopus – multiple drafts. To date, numerous experiments have proved that with normal conscious wakefulness, different areas of the brain can, to a certain extent, do their own thing while participating at the same time in an integrated “whole” (Kotchoubey, 2018). However, the nervous system of an octopus is much poorer, with fast and stable connections similar to those that connect different areas of the human brain. There is no myelin in the octopus’s body — a substance that acts as an insulating sheath of nerve fibers, due to which stable connections arise and function (Mather, 2021). That is why there is a significant difference between the perception of consciousness by various beings.
Reflection
Terms related to this topic are quite often used in psychology concepts: “immediate reality”, “personal experience”, “subjective experience,” and others. In my opinion, all topics related to how to perceive this branch were considered in the course. Due to this, the understanding of consciousness has changed a lot with the passage of the Psych 3311 course. Although it is empirical, the concept of “awareness” is not private, unlike other empirical concepts used in psychology. This is a generic concept denoting a wide range of empirical phenomena related to different spheres of the psyche. For example, it can be attributed to the sensory, perceptual, and mental spheres of human representation and motor activity spheres. “Consciousness” is only a theoretical concept, which denotes not just an abstract but also an ideal object. As an idealization, consciousness can perform a cognitive activity of any complexity. For example, consciousness can solve cognitive tasks super fast and process all the information coming from the outside at the moment. It is in this way that my attitude to this phenomenon has changed since now it can be viewed from various theoretical and methodological foundations.
References
Adams, F. (2019). Embodied cognition and the extended mind. In S. Robins (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Psychology (2nd ed., pp. 1–21). Routledge.
Kotchoubey, B. (2018). Human consciousness: Where is it from and what is it for. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. Web.
Mather, J. (2021). Octopus consciousness: The role of perceptual richness. NeuroSci, 2(3), 276–290. Web.
Sullivan, J. V. (2018). Learning and embodied cognition: A review and proposal. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 17(2), 128–143. Web.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.