What is consciousness from philosophy?

In philosophy it is often said that the being comes first and the description later. Could this be the reason why it is complicated to define the concept of consciousness? Find out in this article.

Consciousness is a complex and fascinating topic from the perspective of philosophy.. It has been the subject of debate and reflection until today. Thus, this article explores the concept in a philosophical order, covering its particularities, usefulness and what differentiates it from other dimensions.

A first approach to the definition of consciousness is what Schopenhauer calls “knot of the world”, explained as a connection between subjective experience and the outside world. The conflict begins here, because as Edelman and Tononi point out in the book The Universe of Consciousnessyour problem is just undoing the binding.

According to philosophy, what is consciousness?

Conceptualizing consciousness from philosophy is a controversial issue that motivates passionate debates. So far no single satisfactory answer has been found. However, different philosophers share an intersection, including Husserl and Heidegger.

This intersection is consciousness as a life experience and not as a theory. Hence its difficulty in being captured by language and creating a solid definition of it, says a publication by the Medicine Archives. This particularity is what also gives rise to the philosophical discussion that arises below.

The present is always being born from the past; a certain present, naturally, from a certain past. Or better: a certain flow comes again and again to flow, the current now sinks and gives way to a new now.

-Edmun Husserl-

Philosophers agree that consciousness is about life experience rather than a theory.

Subject experience

Consciousness thought of as experience means that it is perceived in a bodily way. That is, it constantly becomes visible and invisible, generating a dynamic between active and passive consciousness. When you are aware of something, it becomes visible; When you stop experiencing it, it becomes invisible.

That means that consciousness shows details of its existence. Although there are no regularities in the way it appears before the subject, it is possible to notice the moment in which it appears.

For example, every time you do not anticipate a certain phenomenon and then notice it, there is a manifestation of consciousness. Therefore, you can associate awareness with attention, i.e. When you pay attention to your surroundings or your thoughts, awareness appears.

Self-reflection

Since the Metaphysical meditations of Descartes, it is known that the activity of consciousness is thought, that is, it thinks. Here a debate arises about what consciousness is for the subject: Is it an essential and constituent element of individuals? Is it a faculty or bodily capacity?

The philosopher Gilbert Ryle maintains that what is distinguishable about consciousness is its ability to think about itself. According to this, self-thought is what distinguishes consciousness from other mental processes; In other words, what makes it unique is its power to reflect on itself and be aware of its own processes.

Consciousness and everyday life

In the frenetic activity of everyday life, people do not often ask themselves about consciousness. In this sense, it has become a kind of reinforced myth, because, often, It is associated with abstract definitions and capable of consuming a good part of mental energy due to the depth of its implications..

Read Also: The motor cortex: characteristics and functions

But as already mentioned, consciousness manifests itself in different ways. One of these ways has to do with the responsibility of human beings for their behaviors. This means that conscience differentiates good from bad, being useful in everyday life.

Philosophy of consciousness versus other conceptions

The freedom to meditate and reflect means that philosophy grants a conception of consciousness different from that of other sciences.

Nowadays, the old debates are resumed to solve the problem of consciousness from philosophy. Discussions stimulated by neuroscience propose a definition based on empirical studies of the brain. In recent years, a new discipline has even emerged called neurophilosophyaimed at bringing conceptual clarity to philosophical debates.

In any case, philosophy has certain advantages over traditional sciences. The main one has to do with the freedom that the philosophical field enjoys, to meditate and reflect on topics that are difficult to be studied scientifically, for example, consciousness. And it is because it is not obliged to prove what it says, as is the case with science.

Despite this, the debate persists. An article from the Chilean Journal of Neuropsychology mentions that The philosophical question encourages us to think about ways to bring what is misunderstood into concepts.. But it needs science to come to its aid to clarify and conceptualize in a scientific manner the questions and debates raised by philosophers. At least as far as the topic discussed is concerned.