Consciousness, Intention, and Command-Following in the Vegetative State
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8396369 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Colin Klein (0000-0002-7406-4010, Macquarie University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 27-54 |
| Publication date | 2017-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axv012 |
| OpenAlex | W2318570135 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 52 |
Some vegetative state patients show fMRI responses similar to those of healthy controls when instructed to perform mental imagery tasks. Many authors have argued that this provides evidence that such patients are in fact conscious, as response to commands requires intentional agency. I argue for an alternative reading, on which responsive patients have a deficit similar to that seen in severe forms of akinetic mutism. Akinetic mutism is marked by the inability to form and maintain intentions to act. Responsive patients are likely still conscious. However, the route to this conclusion does not support attributions of intentional agency. I argue that aspects of consciousness, rather than broad diagnostic categories, are the more appropriate target of empirical investigation. Investigating aspects of consciousness provides a better method for investigating profound disorders of consciousness. 1 Introduction 2 Responses in the Vegetative State 2.1 The imaging evidence 2.2 The need for models 3 Responsive Patients and Akinetic Mutism 3.1 Akinetic mutism 3.2 Akinetic mutism as a deficit in intentions 3.3 Arguments for the link 3.4 Interim conclusion 4 Other Models4.1 A deficit in ability? 4.2 Modular intentions? 5 Consciousness and Method5.1 Are they conscious? 5.2 Aspects versus levels
Akinetic mutism · Attribution · Cognitive psychology · Consciousness · Consciousness Disorders · Developmental psychology · Disease · Interim · Level of consciousness · Minimally conscious state · Persistent vegetative state · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neuroscience · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Social Psychology · Traumatic Brain Injury Research
From Neuropsychology to Mental Structure
Detecting Awareness in the Vegetative State
Can cognitive processes be inferred from neuroimaging data?
Power failure
Higher Cortical Functions in Man
Cognitive Ontology and Region- versus Network-Oriented Analyses
Are Neuroimages Like Photographs of the Brain
Reflection, Planning, and Temporally Extended Agency
Images Are Not the Evidence in Neuroimaging
The Vegetative State and the Science of Consciousness
Construct validity in psychological tests
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.8 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |