Human experience is imbued by the sense of being an embodied agent. The investigation of such basic self-consciousness has been hampered by the difficulty of comprehensively modulating it in the laboratory while reliably capturing ensuing subjective changes. The present preregistered study fills this gap by combining advanced meditative states with principled phenomenological interviews: 46...
Abstract Ketamine is classified as a dissociative anaesthetic that, in sub-anaesthetic doses, can produce an altered state of consciousness characterised by dissociative symptoms, visual and auditory hallucinations, and perceptual distortions. Given the anaesthetic-like and psychedelic-like nature of this compound, it is expected to have different effects on brain dynamics in anaesthetic doses...
The nature of consciousness in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) presents a problem that necessitates analysis and further exploration. This study seeks to redefine human-technology relationships by examining the intersection of consciousness and AI, including metaphysical implications and considerations. The primary objectives are to define consciousness within the context of AI,...
It was with the promise of rendering an experimental approach to consciousness that psychology started its trajectory as an independent science more than 150 years ago. Here, we will posit that the neurosciences were instrumental in leading psychology to resume the study of consciousness by projecting an empirical agenda for the future. First, we will start by showing how scientists were able...
The paper proposes the design approach as a blueprint for building a sentient artificial agent capable of exhibiting humanlike attributions of consciousness. The paper also considers whether if such an artificial agent is ever built, how it will be indistinguishable from a human being? Well, it is glowingly evident that the evolution of artificial intelligence is guided by us, humans, whose own...
The original conceptualization of REM sleep as paradoxical sleep was based on its EEG resembling wakefulness and its association with dreaming. Over time, the concept of paradox was expanded to include various associations with REM sleep, such as dream exclusivity, high recall, and pathophysiology. However, none of these associations are unique to REM sleep; they can also occur in other sleep...
Abstract The idea that our perceptual openness to the world is normative can mean different things. In the Kantian tradition, it is tied to epistemic justification—to our readiness to provide reasons for our actions and our beliefs. In the phenomenological tradition of Husserl and Merleau-Ponty, the notion of norm-responsiveness relevant to perceptual experience has more to do with perception’s...
Abstract This chapter considers a cross-historical selection of cases from the ritual magical traditions and discusses explanations of how such practices may produce subjectively convincing experiences of otherworldly beings on the one hand, and methodological questions of how we might best study them on the other. The chapter argues that our best model is found in the framework of predictive...
A recent development in the psychological and neuroscientific study of consciousness has been the tendency to conceptualize consciousness as a multidimensional phenomenon. This narrative review elucidates the notion of dimensionality of consciousness and outlines the key concepts and disagreements on this topic through the viewpoints of several theoretical proposals. The reviewed literature is...
This study explores the notion of spatiotemporal phenomena, particularly bilocation within the religious and mystical traditions of Islam and Sufism to understand deeper spiritual truths and their implications for the interconnectedness of material and metaphysical realms. Hermeneutical and phenomenological analyses have been employed to discern the complexities of bilocation (Time and Space)...