scholarly journals Naturalizing Self-Consciousness: The representationalist approach of F. Dretske

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 181-189
Author(s):  
O. O. Kryvitchenko
Keyword(s):  
Mental Activity ◽  
Cognitive System ◽  
First Person ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
Linguistic Approach ◽  
Self Reference

The article discusses the problem of self-consciousness, which was first articulated by G. Fichte, and which refers to explaining a conscious self-reference without falling into an infinite regression when self-consciousness is implied but not explained. Analyzing S. Shoemaker’s linguistic approach to self-consciousness, the author asserts that the key feature of self-consciousness is a conscious self-reference. However, after considering Shoemaker’s arguments, the author claims impossibility of solving the problem of self-consciousness solely by means of a linguistic analysis.Therefore, the author refers to two bottom-up proposals aiming to solve this issue: the approach of non-conceptual forms of self-consciousness developed by J. Bermúdez and the conception of self-consciousness pre-reflective form coined by D. Zahavi. The article states inadequacies in both approaches and asserts the need to identify self-consciousness in non-intentional (in terms of phenomenology), non-semantic, and non-mental concepts - that is, in a naturalistic way that meets the requirements to naturalism put forward by L. Baker. For this, the author suggests referring to representationalism, in particular to, the works of F. Dretske, and trying to ground the theory of self-consciousness in his statement that representations do not require «self», a principle that spontaneously organizes mental activity and carries out all intentional acts.The author concludes that the approach of Dretske avoids an endless regression or circular way of explanation. However, the very project of naturalization of self-consciousness, based on a non-linguistic, naturalized form of representation of a cognitive system that does not contain «self», can not exist without taking into account the first-person perspective. One of the possible solutions to this problem is the assumption of a metaphysical relation everyone has to himself. However, the author stresses the need for further clarification and agreement with the theses of strong representationalism.

A New Deflationary Account of the “Primitive Sense of Selfhood”

2018 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-328
Author(s):  
Roberto Horácio de Sá Pereira
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
First Person ◽  
Mental Phenomenon ◽  
Clear Case ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Ecological Self ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
Circumstance Of Evaluation ◽  
Self Reference ◽  
Orthodox View

This paper proposes a new deflationary reading of the metaphor of the “primitive sense of selfhood” in perception and proprioception, usually understood as an “experiential self-reference” that takes place before reflection and any use of concepts. As such, the paper is also a new defense of the old orthodox view that self-consciousness is a highly complex mental phenomenon that requires equally complex concepts. The author’s defense is a clear case of inference to the best explanation. He argues that postulating an “experiential self-reference” to explain the “primitive sense of selfhood” (ecological self, proprioception and the first-person perspective) is as explanatory overkill as attributing perceptions to bacteria to explain the remarkably sophisticated ways in which they adapt, attune, and respond to their environments. This is what the author calls trivialization of self-consciousness. The metaphor of the “primitive sense of selfhood” in perception and proprioception is far less extravagantly explained by what, based on Recanati, the author calls self-involvement without self-consciousness: there is no “experiential self-reference” because there is no self-reference in the first place. Rather than being articulated as a constituent of the contents of her/his perceptions or proprioception, the self/subject is the key element of the circumstance of evaluation of these selfless contents.

scholarly journals First-Person Perspective Effects on Theory of Mind without Self-Reference

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. e19320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Otsuka ◽  
Naoyuki Osaka ◽  
Ken Yaoi ◽  
Mariko Osaka
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
First Person ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
Self Reference

scholarly journals Valence of Temporal Self-Appraisals: A Comparison Between First-Person Perspective and Third-Person Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caizhen Yue ◽  
Yihong Long ◽  
Chaomei Ni ◽  
Chunhua Peng ◽  
Tong Yue
Keyword(s):  
Recognition Rate ◽  
First Person ◽  
The Third ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Third Person ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
Future Self ◽  
Third Person Perspective ◽  
The Third Person ◽  
Self Reference

Mental time travel is one of the most remarkable achievements of mankind. On the one hand, people perceive past self, present self, and future self as a continuous unity; on the other hand, people have the ability to distinguish among the three types of temporal selves because there are different representations of them. In this study, we used an adapted temporal self-reference paradigm to explore the processing mechanism of different temporal selves. Temporal self-reference was performed from the first-person perspective in Experiment 1 and from the third-person perspective in Experiment 2. The results indicated that people showed a more positive bias toward future self compared with past self and present self no matter in the first-person perspective or third-person perspective. There was no difference in recognition rate among past self, present self, and future self. Compared with the first-person perspective, present self-processing in the third-person perspective was more abstract and generalized, which may reflect that the third-person perspective has the same distancing function as time. This study can deepen understandings on temporal self-appraisals from different perspectives.

scholarly journals Differentiating Real-World Autobiographical Experiences without Recourse to Behaviour

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 521
Author(s):  
Jonathan Erez ◽  
Marie-Eve Gagnon ◽  
Adrian M. Owen
Keyword(s):  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Extrastriate Cortex ◽  
First Person ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Machine Learning Model ◽  
First Person Perspective

Investigating human consciousness based on brain activity alone is a key challenge in cognitive neuroscience. One of its central facets, the ability to form autobiographical memories, has been investigated through several fMRI studies that have revealed a pattern of activity across a network of frontal, parietal, and medial temporal lobe regions when participants view personal photographs, as opposed to when they view photographs from someone else’s life. Here, our goal was to attempt to decode when participants were re-experiencing an entire event, captured on video from a first-person perspective, relative to a very similar event experienced by someone else. Participants were asked to sit passively in a wheelchair while a researcher pushed them around a local mall. A small wearable camera was mounted on each participant, in order to capture autobiographical videos of the visit from a first-person perspective. One week later, participants were scanned while they passively viewed different categories of videos; some were autobiographical, while others were not. A machine-learning model was able to successfully classify the video categories above chance, both within and across participants, suggesting that there is a shared mechanism differentiating autobiographical experiences from non-autobiographical ones. Moreover, the classifier brain maps revealed that the fronto-parietal network, mid-temporal regions and extrastriate cortex were critical for differentiating between autobiographical and non-autobiographical memories. We argue that this novel paradigm captures the true nature of autobiographical memories, and is well suited to patients (e.g., with brain injuries) who may be unable to respond reliably to traditional experimental stimuli.

scholarly journals An immersive first-person navigation task for abstract knowledge acquisition

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doerte Kuhrt ◽  
Natalie R. St. John ◽  
Jacob L. S. Bellmund ◽  
Raphael Kaplan ◽  
Christian F. Doeller
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
First Person ◽  
Abstract Space ◽  
Motion Platform ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
Abstract Knowledge ◽  
Behavioural Patterns ◽  
Spatial Domains ◽  
First Person Perspective

AbstractAdvances in virtual reality (VR) technology have greatly benefited spatial navigation research. By presenting space in a controlled manner, changing aspects of the environment one at a time or manipulating the gain from different sensory inputs, the mechanisms underlying spatial behaviour can be investigated. In parallel, a growing body of evidence suggests that the processes involved in spatial navigation extend to non-spatial domains. Here, we leverage VR technology advances to test whether participants can navigate abstract knowledge. We designed a two-dimensional quantity space—presented using a head-mounted display—to test if participants can navigate abstract knowledge using a first-person perspective navigation paradigm. To investigate the effect of physical movement, we divided participants into two groups: one walking and rotating on a motion platform, the other group using a gamepad to move through the abstract space. We found that both groups learned to navigate using a first-person perspective and formed accurate representations of the abstract space. Interestingly, navigation in the quantity space resembled behavioural patterns observed in navigation studies using environments with natural visuospatial cues. Notably, both groups demonstrated similar patterns of learning. Taken together, these results imply that both self-movement and remote exploration can be used to learn the relational mapping between abstract stimuli.

scholarly journals Human Enhancements and Voting: Towards a Declaration of Rights and Responsibilities of Beings

Philosophies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
S. J. Blodgett-Ford
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Person ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
To Come ◽  
Additional Option

The phenomenon and ethics of “voting” will be explored in the context of human enhancements. “Voting” will be examined for enhanced humans with moderate and extreme enhancements. Existing patterns of discrimination in voting around the globe could continue substantially “as is” for those with moderate enhancements. For extreme enhancements, voting rights could be challenged if the very humanity of the enhanced was in doubt. Humans who were not enhanced could also be disenfranchised if certain enhancements become prevalent. Voting will be examined using a theory of engagement articulated by Professor Sophie Loidolt that emphasizes the importance of legitimization and justification by “facing the appeal of the other” to determine what is “right” from a phenomenological first-person perspective. Seeking inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, voting rights and responsibilities will be re-framed from a foundational working hypothesis that all enhanced and non-enhanced humans should have a right to vote directly. Representative voting will be considered as an admittedly imperfect alternative or additional option. The framework in which voting occurs, as well as the processes, temporal cadence, and role of voting, requires the participation from as diverse a group of humans as possible. Voting rights delivered by fiat to enhanced or non-enhanced humans who were excluded from participation in the design and ratification of the governance structure is not legitimate. Applying and extending Loidolt’s framework, we must recognize the urgency that demands the impossible, with openness to that universality in progress (or universality to come) that keeps being constituted from the outside.

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