Consciousness, mind, and spirit: three levels of human cognition
A. Ule
October 31, 2015 DOI: 10.7906/indecs.13.4.1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that consciousness, mind, and spirit are distinct cognitive phenomena rather than synonyms, corresponding to three levels of human cognition (individual-experiential, individual-mental, and trans-individual-mental). Proposes three types of spirit—personal, objective, and objectified in cultural productions—and expresses doubt about cosmic or super-cosmic dimensions of spirit despite suggestions from some interpretations of quantum physics and modern cosmology. |
Abstract
The article elucidates three important concepts and realities that refer to cognitive phenomena and are often (mistakenly) used as synonyms: consciousness (slo. zavest), mind (slo. um), and spirit (slo. duh). They present three levels of human cognition: individual-experiential, individual-mental, and trans-individual-mental. Simply put: the concept of consciousness pertains to the waking mental life of a human being, while the concept of mind pertains to the ability and activity to consciously comprehend and understand contents and objects of human activity. I delineate three “types” of spirit: personal spirit, objective spirit, and the objectification of spirit in productions of human culture; I have doubts, however, about the existence of cosmic or super-cosmic dimensions of spirit, although some interpretations of quantum physics and modern cosmology suggest that such dimensions are possible.