Controlling phenomenology by being unaware of intentions
Zoltan Dienes, Bence Pálfi, Peter Lush
July 23, 2020 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/4zw6g_v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Phenomenology philosophy Cognitive psychology Epistemology |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Phenomenological control is a trait ability to construct subjective experiences according to situational requirements, produced by intentionally creating first-order states while thinking one is not so intending. |
Abstract
This chapter reviews evidence that people have, to a varying degree, a trait ability to control phenomenology; that is, to construct subjective experiences according to situational requirements. The experiences can be subjectively compelling ones of involuntariness (for actually intentional movements); of perceptions (that grossly misrepresent reality); and of having beliefs (that in fact one only pretends to have, e.g. being of the opposite gender). Phenomenological control produces the neural and physiological processes that underlie having the subjective experiences. We argue that phenomenological control is best understood by distinguishing first order states from higher order thoughts; in particular, phenomenological control is produced by intentionally creating the required first order states while thinking one is not so intending. Phenomenological control can be used in any context where having a subjective experience would help convince yourself and others that you share group values. It can be used in a hypnotic context to create hypnotic responses. But it can also be used in the context of psychological experiments to construct the phenomena postulated by the researcher where those phenomena are suggested by demand characteristics.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body Consciousness: A Philosophy of Mindfulness and Somaesthetics | 2008 | Review article | |
| Phenomenology, Structure, and Dynamic of Psychedelic States | 2016 | Review | |
| Classic Hallucinogens and Mystical Experiences: Phenomenology and Neural Correlates. | 2018 | Review | |
| The lived experience of psychosis: a bottom-up review co-written by experts by experience and academics. Individuals with lived experience of psychosis, family members, and carers | 2022 | Co-written bottom-up review | |
| From autopoiesis to neurophenomenology: Francisco Varela's exploration of the biophysics of being. | 2003 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 6
- Tripping on nothing: placebo psychedelics and contextual factors Psychopharmacology March 7, 2020
- Modelling psychiatric and cultural possession phenomena with suggestion and fMRI. Cortex April 1, 2014
- THE NEUROPHENOMENOLOGY OF OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCES INDUCED BY HYPNOTIC SUGGESTIONS International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis January 2, 2019
- The Sussex-Waterloo Scale of Hypnotizability (SWASH): measuring capacity for altering conscious experience. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2018
- Case Study of Ecstatic Meditation: fMRI and EEG Evidence of Self-Stimulating a Reward System Neural Plasticity May 22, 2013
and 1 more in the library