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unity of consciousness
Also known as: unified consciousness, unification of consciousness, unity in consciousness
Facts (23)
Sources
Non-physicalist Theories of Consciousness cambridge.org Dec 20, 2023 8 facts
claimThe unity of consciousness can be explained by the theory that individual experiences merge together to form a single total experience, creating connections directly among themselves rather than through a distinct subject.
claimArguments against physicalism based on the unity of consciousness posit that the unity of consciousness requires a subject distinct from the experiences themselves, and because subjects are simple and unified while complex physical systems are not, subjects cannot be physical.
claimSubstance dualism is compatible with arguments from unity, which posit that the unity of consciousness and identity across time must be accounted for by a distinct subject rather than a mere bundling of experiences.
accountWilliam James illustrated the problem of combining micro-units into a unified consciousness by comparing it to twelve men each thinking of one word in a sentence; even if they stand together, there is no consciousness of the whole sentence.
claimNon-physicalism is supported by arguments regarding the epistemic gap between the physical and the phenomenal, as well as arguments asserting that the intentionality and unity of consciousness cannot be accounted for physically.
claimThe deflationary view of subjects holds that the unity of consciousness can be accounted for by relations among phenomenal qualities themselves, rather than by a distinct subject.
claimProperty dualists argue that the unity of consciousness can be accounted for without a distinct subject by adopting the deflationary view.
claimThe unity of consciousness can be explained by the theory that all phenomenal qualities are experienced by a single subject, which is an entity or container distinct from the experiences themselves.
Self-Consciousness - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 13, 2017 7 facts
quoteS. Hurley states: 'self-conscious or first-person contents […] are just more contents, to which the problem of co-consciousness [i.e., the unity of consciousness] also applies.'
claimA Kantian argument for self-consciousness being a necessary condition of consciousness posits that conscious experience is necessarily unified, and that this unity of consciousness depends on self-awareness.
claimThe 'just more content' objection, raised by B. Williams (1978) and S. Hurley (1994, 1998), challenges the view that self-consciousness is the factor that unifies consciousness, arguing that self-conscious thoughts are themselves just additional contents that require unification with first-order experiences.
claimTim Bayne points out that the claim that the unity of consciousness requires the possession of a concept of oneself implies, implausibly, that conceptually unsophisticated infants and non-human animals could not possess a unified stream of consciousness.
referenceTim Bayne published 'Self-Consciousness and the Unity of Consciousness' in The Monist in 2004.
referenceTim Bayne published 'The Unity of Consciousness' in 2010.
claimThe view that non-conceptual self-consciousness is a necessary condition of the unity of consciousness is vulnerable to the objection that it implausibly rules out cases like the subject in a sensory deprivation tank described by G.E.M. Anscombe in 1975, where forms of non-conceptual self-consciousness are absent.
Consciousness (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Fall 2025 ... plato.stanford.edu Jun 18, 2004 2 facts
referenceCleeremans (2003) posits that unity in consciousness involves the integration of diverse items of content at many scales and levels of binding.
claimTim Bayne (2010) emphasizes the notion of phenomenal unity and its relationship to other forms of conscious unity, such as representational, functional, or neural integration.
Dualism, Physicalism, and Philosophy of Mind - Capturing Christianity capturingchristianity.com Dec 11, 2019 1 fact
claimArguments against physicalism include those based on intentionality (the 'aboutness' of thoughts), the 'unity of consciousness,' and the human ability to reason.
Panpsychism - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 18, 2017 1 fact
referenceLuke Roelofs analyzed the unity of consciousness within and between subjects in a 2016 article in 'Philosophical Studies'.
Sources of Knowledge: Rationalism, Empiricism, and the Kantian ... press.rebus.community 1 fact
claimImmanuel Kant argues that apperception requires two types of unity: data must represent a common subject, and data must be held together by a unified self, referred to as the "unity of consciousness" or "unity of apperception."
Global Versus Local Theories of Consciousness and the ... link.springer.com 1 fact
referenceZeki introduces a hierarchy between micro-consciousnesses and unified consciousness, where a macro-consciousness (unified consciousness) emerges at a higher level when attributes from different processing subsystems are merged.
Panpsychism - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimGiulio Tononi avoids philosophical terminology such as 'qualia' or 'the unity of consciousness' in his theory, opting instead for mathematically precise alternatives like 'entropy function' and 'information integration'.
The Conscious Mind - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimDavid Chalmers identifies three fundamental questions regarding the nature of consciousness: how sensory and neurological structures influence the structure of consciousness, what causes the unification of consciousness, and why some information is realized in experience while other information is not.