Consciousness and Qualia — How Do Consciousness and Symbols Relate?
PsyArXiv July 27, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/fm48q_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that philosophical inquiry into consciousness has depended primarily on language and logic developed in adult humans, making much modern research abstract, and that since the 1990s a second generation of philosophers has begun integrating neuroscientific insights into their theses. |
Abstract
Consciousness has long been a focus of philosophical inquiry. Philosophers have employedthoughts supported by language and logic as a primary tool to examine the essence andstructure of consciousness in mostly adult humans. Language elevates the abstraction ofthought and has significantly contributed to the advancement of civilization. Within an individual,language plays a significant role to advance complexity in thought processes and providerichness to a variety of conscious experience. In this sense, modern philosophical research onconsciousness is largely based on abstract thinking. Among the many critical thoughts, one ofthe most fundamental is Descartes’ famous dictum "Cogito ergo sum" (“I think, therefore I am”).From a viewpoint of consciousness, this implies "I cannot doubt the presence of my ownconsciousness." Since Descartes, philosophical research on consciousness remained primarilydependent on logical and linguistic reasoning, while recent philosophers (especially after the1990s, the second generation) started to incorporate neuroscientific insights into their thesis.