Downgraded phenomenology: how conscious overflow lost its richness.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences September 19, 2018 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0355 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Change blindness Inattentional blindness Visual awareness |
| Citations | 20 |
| Key points | Argues that failures of visual awareness, once memory and comparison failures are excluded, provide strong evidence against rich visual awareness and require theories to downgrade phenomenology. |
Abstract
Our in-the-moment experience of the world can feel vivid and rich, even when we cannot describe our experience due to limitations of attention, memory or other cognitive processes. But the nature of visual awareness is quite sparse, as suggested by the phenomena of failures of awareness, such as change blindness and inattentional blindness. I will argue that once failures of memory or failures of comparison are ruled out as explanations for these phenomena, they present strong evidence against rich awareness. To accommodate and explain these massive failures of awareness, any theory of phenomenal consciousness must downgrade phenomenology to a degree where it is functionless or, ironically, does not reflect what we experience.This article is part of the theme issue 'Perceptual consciousness and cognitive access'.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Perceptual consciousness and cognitive access: an introduction. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences September 19, 2018
- Sources of richness and ineffability for phenomenally conscious states. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2024
- The unfathomable richness of seeing. Trends in Cognitive Sciences July 3, 2025
- Using Extended Reality to Study the Experience of Presence. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2023
- Hard criteria for empirical theories of consciousness Cognitive Neuroscience July 14, 2020
and 2 more in the library
Cites 5
- On a confusion about a function of consciousness Behavioral and Brain Sciences June 1, 1995
- Perception and Iconic Memory: What Sperling Doesn't Show Mind & Language September 1, 2011
- We see more than we can report: "cost free" color phenomenality outside focal attention. Psychological Science July 1, 2014
- Rich conscious perception outside focal attention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences September 1, 2014
- Perceptual illusions in brief visual presentations. Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2009