Abstract This paper proposes a unified account of subjectivity grounded in the concept of incomplete computation. It argues that the two standard meanings of “subjectivity” in philosophical discourse—epistemic subjectivity (perspectival limitation, opinion, partial knowledge) and ontological subjectivity (first-person givenness, qualia, phenomenal experience)—are not distinct phenomena, but two...
This issue of Agatheos has its origins in an important passing of a torch within the philosophy of religion.Linda Zagzebski was the Kingfisher Chair in Religion and Ethics at the University of Oklahoma for over twenty years until her retirement in 2021.She was succeeded in January of 2024 by Yujin Nagasawa, who left a research chair in Birmingham for the honor.Zagzebski and Nagasawa, in...
Human interaction with manipulable objects relies heavily on the ability to perceive and execute grasping actions, yet it remains unclear whether the semantics of these actions are processed without conscious awareness. While previous work has identified bottom-up influences on grasp recognition, direct evidence for subliminal semantic processing of grasping actions is limited. Grounded in...
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence(AI) has reshaped contemporary life and intensified philosophical questions concerning human consciousness and selfhood. While AI systems increasingly simulate cognitive and creative processes, they remain confined to surface-level cognition and instrumental reasoning. This paper argues that the AI era calls for a renewed inquiry into deeper...
Frontiers in PsychologyJanuary 30, 2026Nina Zech, Martin H. J. Busch, Veronika K. Jaeger et al.
Introduction: Mind-body interventions are increasingly used in health care, both for physical and for psychological therapy. With directing the focus to the body and inner experiences they include elements of trance induction and hypnosis. The scope of this experimental study was to test the hypothesis that a non-ordinary state of consciousness may occur during a mind-body intervention with...
Whereas aphantasics report lacking voluntary conscious visual imagery, empirical findings indicate that they employ visual strategies to complete tasks. The discrepancy has led some researchers to propose that aphantasics rely on unconscious visual imagery. This paper instead motivates and defends a "conscious" view. Consciousness research uses both visibility and confidence measures....
This paper argues that artificial intelligence and human cognition develop in opposite directions. Humans start with embodied experience (living in the world) and gradually develop the ability to recognize patterns and make predictions. AI systems do the reverse: they start by recognizing patterns in data but lack the embodied continuity that grounds human understanding. Drawing on Buddhist...
The problem of evil and the problem of consciousness occupy central positions in the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of mind, respectively. On the face of it, these problems seem to be fundamentally distinct. The problem of evil is concerned with whether the existence of evil in the world undermines belief in the existence of God while the problem of consciousness concerns the nature...
Psycho-spiritual distress is prevalent and distressing among advanced cancer patients. While mind-body exercises have shown promise in alleviating psychological distress, their effectiveness in advanced cancer patients is still being explored. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of two mind-body exercises-Tai Chi and mindful yoga-each rooted...
There is a lack of evidence describing the lived experience of the early healing period (72 hours to 6 weeks post-transplant) and its meaning to people undergoing liver transplant surgery. To address this gap, a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological approach guided by Newman's Theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness was used to describe and interpret the meaning of the early stage of...