Consciousness and Action

Does Cognitive Science Support (Mild) Epiphenomenalism

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8399013
AutoresMorgan Wallhagen (Bryn Mawr College, autor de correspondencia)
Año2007
Volumen58
Número3
Páginas539-561
Fecha de publicación2007-09-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/bjps/axm023
OpenAlexW2054136544
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas14
Referencias citadas6

Questions about the function(s) of consciousness have long been central to discussions of consciousness in philosophy and psychology. Intuitively, consciousness has an important role to play in the control of many everyday behaviors. However, this view has recently come under attack. In particular, it is becoming increasingly common for scientists and philosophers to argue that a significant body of data emerging from cognitive science shows that conscious states are not involved in the control of behavior. According to these theorists, nonconscious states control most everyday behaviors. Andy Clark ([2001]) does an admirable job of summarizing and defending the most important data thought to support this view. In this paper, I argue that the evidence available does not in fact threaten the view that conscious states play an important and intimate role in the control of much everyday behavior. I thereby defend a philosophically intuitive view about the functions of conscious states in action. 1. Introduction2. Clarifying EBC2.1. Control and guidance2.2. Fine-tuned activity3. The empirical case against EBC4. Conclusion

Action (physics) · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Consciousness · Control (management) · Epistemology · Everyday life · Function (biology) · Sociology · Computer Science · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Neuroscience · Philosophy · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment