Towards a conscious model of consciousness.

Consciousness can be explained by neuroscience, but many people still view it as an immaterial substance. Several recent theories attempt to explain consciousness, including the global workspace theory, attention schema theory, higher-order thought theory, and illusionist theory. These theories range from a neurobiological interpretation (global workspace theory) to a psychological-folk interpretation (illusionist theory).

Study at a glance

Abstract

Several thousand years ago, our human ancestors realized that the brain was the organ of the mind and movement. But, how does the brain generate a voluntary movement and adds consciousness to it? Here, we assume that these two processes can be explained by neuroscience, but a large proportion of our society -including some scientists- considers consciousness as some immaterial substance that dwells in our body. As consequence of these divided opinions, several theories have recently emerged with the aim of explaining consciousness. These theories in no order of importance, but definitely in the order of complexity, are the global workspace (GWT), attention schema (AST), higher order-thought (HOT) and illusionist (IT) theories. All these theories originate from different backgrounds, and each tries to explain different components of consciousness: from a pure neurobiological (GWT) interpretation to a pure psychological-folk interpretation (IT).