In:The Constitution of Phenomenal Consciousness: Toward a science and theory
Edited by Steven M. Miller
[Advances in Consciousness Research 92] 2015
► pp. 260–270
The future of consciousness science
From empirical correlations to theoretical explanation
Published online: 17 June 2015
https://doi.org/10.1075/aicr.92.10rev
https://doi.org/10.1075/aicr.92.10rev
In this paper I overview my previous work concerning a multilevel framework for consciousness science. Constitutive, etiological and contextual dimensions of explanation are described. The multilevel framework is then applied to current issues within consciousness science including understanding the convergence of top-down and bottom-up constraints, the level of measurement problem and sorting out t he correlates, causes and constituents of consciousness. Drawing on the dreaming brain as a model system, I also briefly describe my group’s research using electrophysiology and transcranial magnetic stimulation. I conclude that consciousness science will gradually adopt a unified multilevel model with a systematic description of phenomenology, the phenomenal level in the brain and their relation with the causal networks of the physical world.
References (13)
Bechtel, W. (2008). Mental mechanisms: Philosophical perspectives on cognitive neuroscience. London, UK: Routledge.
Craver, C.F. (2007). Explaining the brain: Mechanisms and the mosaic unity of neuroscience. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Koch, C. (2004). The quest for consciousness: A neurobiological approach. Englewood, CO: Roberts & Company.
Koivisto, M., & Revonsuo, A. (2010). Event-related brain potential correlates of visual awareness. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 34(6), 922–934.
Miller, S.M. (2001). Binocular rivalry and the cerebral hemispheres: With a note on the correlates and constitution of visual consciousness. Brain and Mind, 2(1), 119–149.
. (2007). On the correlation/constitution distinction problem (and other hard problems) in the scientific study of consciousness. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 19(3), 159–176.
Railo, H., Koivisto, M., & Revonsuo, A. (2011). Tracking the processes behind conscious perception: A review of event-related potential correlates of visual consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition, 20(3), 972–983.
Revonsuo, A. (2000). Prospects for a scientific research program on consciousness. In T. Metzinger (Ed.), Neural correlates of consciousness: Empirical and conceptual questions (pp.57–75). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
. (2001). Can functional brain imaging discover consciousness in the brain? Journal of Consciousness Studies, 8(3), 3–23.