Self Assessment

Under Construction

The rest will be posted in August 2010

 Here are some questions to help you revise your understanding of each chapter.

The last question in each section invites you to record your own opinion on a critical issue. This can be fun to do, especially if you are ruthlessly honest and write down what you really think. You will probably find that your ideas and opinions change substantially as you work through the course and it can be fascinating to look back at what you once believed (I say this from experience, having rejected many of my own daft theories of consciousness over the years!) You might start out with your own theory of consciousness that you think solves all the problems, and then end up rejecting it as rubbish, or vice versa.

Chapter 1

1.    Describe the mind-body problem.
       Name some traditional solutions to it.

2.    What was Descartes' solution to the mind-body problem?

3.    Why did behaviourism flourish and why did it ultimately fail?

4.    What does the term 'intentionality' mean?

5.    Describe the mysterious gap in as many different ways as you can.

6.    Who described the 'hard problem' and what is it?

7.    Are you a dualist or a monist?

Chapter 2

1.   1.  Who asked ‘What is it like to be a bat?’? and why?

2.   2.  What is it like to be a .... ?  make up some questions of your own and consider how you would answer them.

3.   3.  What is a quale? Give some examples.

4.   4.  Give two opposing answers to the question ‘What does Mary learn when she comes out of her black and white room?’

5.   5.  What is the philosopher’s zombie? List as many people as you can who believe that (a) a zombie could exist (b) a zombie could not exist. What do you think?

7.  Do you think the Hard Problem is a real problem that needs solving? If so, how would you set about solving it?

Chapter 3

1  What potential problems are there with the idea that consciousness has causal efficacy?

2.  What evidence suggests a dissociation between visuomotor control and visual perception.

3.  Does the experiment by Castiello et al prove that consciousness comes too late to play a role in fast reaching movements?

4.  How do dualist theories explain the interaction between consciousness and the brain?

5.  What is functionalism and can it explain phenomenal consciousness?

6.  Describe the two main kinds of representational theory of consciousness.

7.  What functions does consciousness have according to Global Workspace Theory ?

8.  Do you believe that consciousness has any causal power?

Chapter 4

1.  In what ways does being conscious feel like being in a theatre?

2.  How do theories of attention use theatre imagery?

3.  Who coined the term ‘Cartesian Theatre’ (CT) and what is meant by it?

4.  What is wrong with the idea of the CT?

5.  How does Baars use the theatre metaphor in his theory? Is it a CT?

6.  Name three theories that avoid theatre imagery altogether.

7.  Explain, in your own words, Dennett’s theory of multiple drafts.

8.  Do you think the metaphor of the theatre is helpful or unhelpful for studying consciousness?

Chapter 5

1  Name three kinds of involuntary attention.

2.  What did James mean by the ‘cause theory’ and the ‘effect theory’ of attention?

3.  What is the evidence that half a second of neural activity is required for ‘neuronal adequacy’?

4.  What is ‘subjective antedating? And how does it work?

5.  What is the 'attentional blink' and how can it be demonstrated?

6.  Describe three phenomena that seem to show anomalies in time.

7.  According to Dennett, what is the difference between Orwellian and Stalinesque revisions?

8.  Do you believe that consciousness lags behind the events of the physical world?

Chapter 6

1.  What is meant by the phrase 'grand illusion'?

2.  Give two alternative explanations for the apparent filling-in of the blind spot.

3.  List some kinds of display that are, and are not, filled in across a scotoma.

4.  Why did Dennett imagine a room papered all over with identical portraits of Marilyn Monroe?

5.  Describe two or more methods for demonstrating change blindness.

6.  What implications does change blindness have for theories of vision?

7.  How might change blindness affect us in daily life?

8.  What is inattentional blindness? Give some examples.

9.  Why are magicians' tricks relevant to consciousness?

10.  Describe in your own words how you think vision works. If you are consciously seeing a book, a cup of coffee, or your friend's face, what do you think it is that makes this visual experience conscious?

Chapter  7

1.  Describe the difference between ego and bundle theories. Where did each get its name?

2.  What role does memory play in cases of multiple personality?

3.  What is the evidence that Sally Beauchamp’s body was inhabited by more than one conscious self at a time?

4.  What is the status of multiple personality disorder in psychiatry today?

5.  Describe a typical experiment for testing the two hemispheres of a split brain patient independently.

6.  Give examples of confabulation in both normal and abnormal conditions.

7.  How many selves are there in a split brain patient: one, two or none? Describe at least one theory that gives each answer.

8.  Are you a bundle theorist or an ego theorist? How does this affect the way you live?

Chapter 8 

1.  What is the point of the teletransporter thought experiment?

2.  What did William James mean when he said that the thoughts themselves are the thinkers?

3.  Describe some neuroscientific approaches to the nature of self.

4.  What does Hofstadter mean by describing himself as a strange loop?

5.  How does Metzinger's self-model theory account for subjective experience?

6.  In your own words explain Dennett’s theory of the self.

7.  If there is a continuum between bundle and ego theories, where along it would you place the theories covered in this chapter?

8.  Do you feel as though you are, or have, a self? if so, how do you explain this feeling?

Chapter 9

1.  What is the problem of free will?

2.  Describe Libet’s experiment in your own words. What three things did he measure and how?

3.  List three methodological criticisms of Libet’s experiment.

4.  What was Libet’s own interpretation of his results? Give one other interpretation.

5.  Explain Dennett’s objection to the experiment.

6.  Describe Wegner's  ouija board experiment in your own words.

7.  According to Wegner, what causes the experience of will?

8.  Do you have free will?

Chapter 10

1. What is a NCC?

2. What does it mean to say that a correlation is not a cause? Think up some examples in which people have wrongly assumed cause from correlation (they are widespread in the media).

3. Describe two theories which relate the effects of anaesthetics to consciousness.

4. Why does perceptual rivalry provide a useful paradigm for studying the NCC? Describe two experiments using this technique.

5. What are the neural correlates of pain? Describe two theories that try to explain why pain hurts.

6. List several methods for observing brain function and describe their advantages and disadvantages

7.  What does Ramachandran mean by claiming to have amputated a phantom limb?

8.  Do you think that studying the NCCs is the right way forward for the science of consciousness?

Chapter 11

1.  What is meant by “the unity of consciousness”? Why is it a problem?

2.  Describe the binding problem(s).

3.  What is the relationship between binding and attention?

4.  Describe two theories of binding by neural synchrony.

5.  Explain Zeki’s theory of microconsciousnesses.

6.  How does Edelman and Tononi’s theory account for unity and diversity?

7.  What is synaesthesia, and how can it be tested?

8. Do you think the unity of consciousness is an illusion?

Chapter 12

1.  What is amnesic syndrome? Which kinds of memory are lost and which are retained?

2.  Describe two or more amnesic patients. What do their cases tell us about consciousness?

3.  What is Anton’s syndrome and how might it be explained?

4.  Describe some experiments that reveal the nature of the deficits in hemifield neglect.

5.  What is blindsight? How is it caused, and how can it be detected?

6.  Compare the arguments that have used blindsight to support the possibility of zombies with those that use blindsight to undermine it.

7.  What is sensory substitution and why might it be relevant to consciousness?

8. Do you think that Block's distinction between Access Consciousness and Phenomenal Consciousness is valid, or not?

Chapter 13

1.    What was the “argument from design” supposed to prove? Why is it false?

2.    In your own words, explain how natural selection works. List three or more phrases that describe the process.

3.    Describe some theories in which consciousness directs evolution. What is wrong with them?

4.    What is a selfish replicator?

5.    Describe some differences between sociobiology and evolutionary psychology.

6.    If you believe in the possibility of zombies, what is the function of consciousness?

7.    How does a functionalist set about explaining the evolution of consciousness?

8.    Do you personally believe that consciousness evolved by natural selection?

Chapter 14

 1.    Suggest some turning points in evolution which might have marked the appearance of consciousness.

2.    Describe Humphrey’s “Just-so story” in your own words.

3.    Compare Humphrey's and Mithen's theories of how consciousness evolved.

4.    On what grounds does Barlow criticise Humphrey’s theory? What other criticisms can you think of?

5.    Describe two or three theories in which consciousness has no biological function.

6.    Think of as many ways as possible in which Darwinian processes may be involved in the evolution of mind.

7.    What are memes? Compare two theories that make use of memes in understanding consciousness.

8.   Do you believe consciousness has a function? If so what is it?
 

Chapter 15

1.    What does a frog see?

2.    How might you tell whether an animal (e.g. a cow, a fish on a hook, or a battery hen) is suffering? Can you be sure?

3.    Which animals can recognise themselves in a mirror? What does this tell us about self consciousness?

4.    List three or more skills which suggest that an animal has a theory of mind.

5.    Describe two experiments designed to find out whether an animal knows what another animal can see.

6.    Which species are capable of imitation? What implications does this have for consciousness?

7.    Do other species have language? Why is this relevant to consciousness?

8.   Which living things do you think are conscious, and why?

Chapter 16

1.  List some landmarks in the history of intelligent machines.

2.   Describe Turing’s original machine. What is a universal Turing machine?

3.   What is GOFAI and what principles is it based on?

4.   What is the difference between Strong and Weak AI?

5.   Describe how a simple ANN works. How does this differ from traditional computing?

6.   Give an example of emergent intelligent action in a simple animal and a simple machine.

7.   Describe the Turing Test. If a machine passed the unrestricted Turing test, what would you conclude about the machine?

8.  Are you happy to think of yourself as a machine? If so, how does this affect the way you live? If not, why not?

Chapter 17

1.  List the main arguments against the possibility of conscious machines.

2.  What problems would you face in designing a test for whether a machine is conscious?

3.  In what ways is biology thought to be important for consciousness?

4.  What things do people claim machines could never do?

5.  What things do you think machines could never do?

6.  Describe the Chinese Room thought experiment. What is it supposed to show?

7.  Summarise Penrose and Hameroff’s theory. Does it help to explain consciousness?

8.  Do you think the question "Could a machine have phenomenal consciousness?" is meaningful or not? (you might like to return to this question after studying Chapter 18 as well.)

Chapter 18

1.  People are generally bad at judging whether machines or other creatures have goals, desires or intentions. Give two or three examples that illustrate this.

2.  Describe Kismet. What has been learned about machine consciousness from Kismet’s behaviour?

3.  Do thermostats have beliefs? Compare McCarthy's and Aleksander's views.

4.  Choose any theory of consciousness. How would you set about creating a conscious machine on the basis of that theory?

5.  Why is it so difficult to give true language to machines?

6.  What are the implications of machine imitation?

7.  What is the relevance of embodiment to machine consciousness?

8.  Compare Kurzweil’s and Brooks’s visions for the future of conscious machines.

9.  How would you set about building a conscious machine? (assume you could have any components or apparatus you needed.)

Chapter 19

1.  Give some examples of “Eureka moments”. Why are they relevant to nonconscious processing?

2.  What do subliminal perception and blindsight have in common?

3.  Describe at least two experiments in which a dissociation was found between conscious and unconscious perception.

4.  In which ways have emotional responses to unconscious stimuli been demonstrated?

5.  Describe Lewicki’s experimental method.

6.  What is intuition?

7.  Describe some of the processes involved in creativity.

8.  If events and stimuli you fail to notice nevertheless affect your emotions and behaviour, what does this tell you about your own consciousness? Does this bother you?

Chapter 20

1.  What factors are involved in reality monitoring?

2.  What are the differences between perceptions, imagery, hallucinations, and pseudo-hallucinations?

3.  Describe some of the ways in which hallucinations can be induced.

4.  What are the form constants and how can they be explained?

5.  What is sleep paralysis? What are its most common features and why is it so frightening?

6.  Describe some of the drugs used by shamans and the worlds they claim to see.

7.  What experiences have you had that hover on the boundary (if there is a boundary) between reality and imagination. Do any of these help you in thinking about the nature of consciousness?

 Chapter 21

1.   If paranormal phenomena exist, what are the implications for science?

2.   Why was psychical research founded, and what were its main aims?

3.   Define all the main terms used in parapsychology.

4.  Why is the randomisation of targets so important in psi experiments? What are the best methods?

5.  Describe two or more experiments that use free-response methods for testing ESP.

6.  Outline the ganzfeld controversy. What conclusion do you draw?

7.  How is micro-PK tested? What are the implications for consciousness?

8.  Do you believe there are any paranormal phenomena?

Chapter 22

1.  What is an ASC? Should ASCs be defined objectively or subjectively?

2.  What is altered in an ASC?

3.  Describe two or more ways of mapping ASCs. Why is this so difficult?

4.  Explain the idea of state specific sciences.

5.  List the main categories of psychoactive drugs.

6.  Describe the mode of action and psychological effects of MDMA.

7.  List as many psychedelic drugs as you can. In what ways are their effects similar and different from each other?

8.  Do you think that future research on psychedelics will be valuable to the science of consciousness?

Chapter 23

1.  What are REM and non-REM sleep and how are they identified?

2.  Describe Hobson’s AIM model.

3.  Are ordinary dreams experiences? Are they ASCs? Provide arguments for and against.

4.  Explain the retro-selective theory of dreams.

5.  Define the following: flying dream, false awakening, metachoric experience, lucid dream.

6.  Describe the method of signalling from lucid dreams. Give three or more examples of experiments made possible by this technique.

7.  Do dreams have an evolutionary function? List three types of answer.

8.  What is the difference between the state and non-state theories of hypnosis?

9.  Have you ever had a lucid dream? What do you think your own dream experiences tell you about consciousness or the nature of self?

Chapter 24

1.  What are EHEs? Make a list of experiences that might be included.

2.  How is an OBE defined? Under what conditions do OBEs occur and to whom? How can they be induced experimentally?

3.  What is the evidence that something leaves the body during an OBE?

4.  How common are NDEs and what are their main features?

5.  What are the two main theories used to account for NDEs.

6.  Can you define a mystical experience? Describe two or more schemes that list the components of mystical experiences.

7.  What is the evidence that genuine mystical experiences can be induced by drugs?

8.  Do you believe that EHEs can provide genuine insights into the nature of self, consciousness or the universe? Have you yourself had any such insights, or glimpsed what appear to be deeper truths?

Chapter 25

1.  What are first-person, second-person, and third-person approaches to consciousness? Give examples of each.

2.  What is the difference between a first-person science and first-person methods?

3.  Explain the argument between the A team and the B team.

4.  What is the phenomenological reduction?

5.  Explain the principles of neurophenomenology. How might it contribute to a science of consciousness?

6.  What is the reflexive model of perception?

7.  Explain what Dennett means by heterophenomenology. What are the three steps involved, and what is the end product?

8.  Do you personally believe that first-person methods are important in consciousness studies. Are you pursuing any yourself and, if so, what have you learned from them?

Chapter 26

1.  What are the basic principles common to all forms of meditation?

2.  Describe the differences between open and concentrative meditation.

3.  What is mindfulness? How is it practiced and it what ways has it been applied?

4.  What is a koan? Give some examples.

5.  What are the main methodological problems in research on meditation?

6.  Is meditation relaxing? Is it an ASC? Is it a form of sleep? Describe some of the evidence.

7.  What is the role of attention in meditation?

8.  Do you meditate? If so, what have you learned about your own mind from doing so?

Chapter 27

1.  Describe the life of the Buddha.

2.  Give possible reasons why so many psychologists have chosen to study Buddhism.

3.  What is Zen? And what is meant by awakening?

4.  What are the similarities and differences between psychotherapy and spiritual practice?

5.  Why is the notion of a spiritual path problematic?

6.  Who found that he had no head, and what is meant by the headless way?

7.  Compare and contrast the illusions discussed in consciousness studies with those found in Buddhism.

8.  Do you believe that enlightenment is possible? If you were enlightened would you then understand consciousness and escape the hard problem?

Conclusions

1. Do you have your own theory of consciousness?
If so, try to describe it as clearly as you can. Do any of the traditional problems for consciousness studies remain?

2.  Do you feel more or less bemused by the problems of consciousness after studying this book?

3.  What still bothers you most about consciousness?
 

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