PSYC 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Intentionality, Cartesian Theater, Charlotte Selver
Document Summary
Consciousness: subjective experience of the world and the mind. Cartesian theater: a mental screen or stage for which things appear to be presented for viewing by the mind"s eye: there is something in our mind that is watching everything. What is it like to be a bat: batness is inherently unknowable. What is it like to be another person: always a lingering question, never really know, possible that every individual has a different conscious. Intentionality of consciousness: directing consciousness towards an object: conscious attention is limited. Depending on how close we focus, we can see the world in different ways. Unity of consciousness: consciousness" resistance to division: also referred to as divided attention, because we have this unity, it is hard to multitask. Transience of consciousness: the tendency for consciousness to change: william james used a stream of consciousness metaphor a person"s thoughts and conscious reactions to events, perceived as a continuous flow.