Editorial: Integrating Philosophical and Scientific Approaches in Consciousness Research.

Abstract

Consciousness has a long history as a topic of philosophical investigation.But its status as an object of scientific inquiry is a comparatively recent development.Consciousness seems to elude traditional approaches to scientific research because it is not directly accessible to third-person observational methods or objective systems of measurement.Researchers cope with this challenge in a variety of ways.It is common for scientists to appeal to philosophy to help them think through the nature of consciousness.Philosophical questions might inspire scientific studies and provide theoretical foundations for scientific research programs.And, with the rising interest in interdisciplinary research-including interdisciplinary collaboration-philosophers have likewise developed an interest in how, precisely, they might effectively integrate their conceptual or theoretical contributions with scientific approaches to the study of consciousness.With this Research Topic, we provide a platform for this integration of philosophical and scientific approaches in consciousness research.Among the questions are: How can philosophical theories of consciousness generate testable hypotheses for scientific research?How should we go about formulating these hypotheses and designing studies that can test them?How can philosophy inform interview techniques that help us better understand the nature of conscious experience?And how can it guide mixed methods that bring together qualitative and quantitative techniques?How can philosophical accounts of consciousness that seem opposed to the assumptions of the natural sciences-such as transcendental theories of consciousness-be made compatible with current scientific research?This Research Topic brings together a diverse range of articles that address these questions.We briefly introduce each article, proceeding from general methodological reflections to concrete applications and illustrations."A Map of Consciousness Studies: Questions and Approaches" by Niikawa is a second order investigation and multidimensional comparison of different theories encountered in consciousness research. It combines a top-down approach, listing and characterizing key questions in consciousness research, with a bottom-up approach regarding the different methodologies being applied. At the end, Niikawa uses the differentiations provided to compare the Integrated Information Theory and the Global Workspace Theory.