Consciousness in questions
Marc Jeannerod
Brain February 4, 2010 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awp347 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | The text states that conscious mental states have a distinctive phenomenal character that can be experienced and reported, illustrated by the different felt character of seeing versus hearing or smelling. It frames the question of what it is like to be conscious as one that nobody can answer by definition for the unconscious case. |
Abstract
What is it like to be conscious? Whereas nobody knows, by definition, what is it like to be unconscious, everybody knows what is it like to be conscious. Those of our mental states that are conscious have a distinctive phenomenal character, which we can experience and report. For example, there is something about seeing things that has its own distinctive character, which differs from hearing or smelling them.