Science and Engineering Ethics
September 1, 2012
Terence A McGoldrick
Catholic theology's traditional understanding of the spiritual nature of the human person begins with the idea of a rational soul and human mind that is made manifest in free will--the spiritual experience of the act of consciousness and cause of all human arts. The rationale for this religion-based idea of personhood is key to understanding ethical dilemmas posed by modern research that...
Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices
August 30, 2012
Kim Sargent-Wishart
This article presents a contemplative dance/movement research practice, based in the somatic approach of Body-Mind Centering® (BMCSM), exploring the dynamics of the five elements (space, air, fire, water and earth) according to Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. This research practice is a component of the author's current doctoral study in performance, which includes a dialogue between Tibetan...
Journal of Forensic Sciences
August 17, 2012
Cristiana Gambelunghe, Remo Marsili, Kyriaki Aroni et al.
25 citations
Abstract Peyote, a cactus containing the hallucinogen mescaline, is used to induce altered states of consciousness in religious ceremonies or for recreational purpose. This study reports a case of an underage boy suspected of mescaline abuse. For this purpose, we analyzed a dark green liquid sample found in the bedroom of the boy whose urine and hair samples were collected shortly after the...
Advances in Consciousness Research
August 7, 2012
Nivedita Gangopadhyay
The extended mind hypothesis (EM) (Clark & Chalmers 1998; Clark 2008) is an influential hypothesis in philosophy of mind and cognitive science. In this paper I discuss the support waiting for EM in social cognition, particularly in some cases of embodied intersubjective interactions or action-understanding. A main claim to be defended by way of defending EM is the elimination of the boundary...
Advances in Consciousness Research
August 7, 2012
Manuela Sanna
This study is intended to follow up and illustrate the theoretical steps through which G.B. Vico defined the concept of “Consciousness” (coscienza) in the works that preceded his masterpiece, the Scienza Nuova. The theme of consciousness is elaborated by the Neapolitan philosopher in a very different way from Descartes’s proposals, since it comes out by approaching verum to facere and, later,...
Advances in Consciousness Research
August 7, 2012
Antonio Lamarra
The idea of consciousness, as subjective awareness of the self and of its mental contents, appeared in European culture only in the late 17th century as resulting from a relatively rapid process of conceptual development, which had started in the framework of the post-Cartesian culture. It was rooted in the ancient idea of moral conscience insofar it requested as a condition the existence of a...
Advances in Consciousness Research
August 7, 2012
Adrian J T Alsmith
This paper aims to examine the reasons for endorsing the idea of pre-reflective bodily self-consciousness. The guiding question will be: why should one think that any description of consciousness that posits PBS is correct? The aim of this discussion is to show how hard this question is to answer and the kinds of considerations that one should bring to bear in attempting to answer it. Keywords:...
Advances in Consciousness Research
August 7, 2012
Bryony Pierce
The mind-body problem – how conscious experience can arise from a physical system – is commonly taken to be the problem of how phenomenal properties could come to accompany psychological or behavioural functions, which, being functional and attainable by non-conscious entities in virtue of their physical features, are not viewed as part of the ‘hard problem’. This implies that there is a...
Advances in Consciousness Research
August 7, 2012
Consciousness in Interaction is an interdisciplinary collection with contributions from philosophers, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and historians of philosophy. It revolves around the idea that consciousness emerges from, and impacts on, our skilled interactions with the natural and social context. Section one discusses how phenomenal consciousness and subjective selfhood are grounded...
Advances in Consciousness Research
August 7, 2012
Monica Riccio
The paper deals with the transformation of sensation concept throughout modern thinking. A particularr focus is laid on the transition of sensation from the external – the body and his surface – into the inside – the depth and darkness of human consciousness. If “nothing but a body can touch and be touched” (Lucretius, De rerum natura, I, 304), it is namely in the passivity, in the stance of...