Rhetorical Analysis

The fascination with consciousness dates back to the time of Plato and Descartes. Since those times the term “consciousness” has spurned controversy in many scientific fields, including the fields of biology, psychology, and neuroscience. However, with the recent advancements in brain imaging technologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), human consciousness has shifted from being a subjective, abstract idea into being a observable scientific phenomenon. As neuroimaging capabilities progress, the public interest in consciousness also grows.

Have you ever noticed that the problem in our world has been greed and ignorance since the beginning of history? Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist diagnosed with ALS, once stated, “We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on this small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet.”, arguing that the world is being demolished because of selfishness and the belief of superiority that is bestowed upon the human race. Hawking’s argument supports realization of destruction, which relates to the pre-civil war era, “The Diary of Anne Frank”, and the LGBT+ community and allies because each group of people are being terrorized by other people who believe they are superior

With this controversy of trying to figure out reality and the universe comes the understanding of our own consciousness. Alan Wallace takes a look into becoming consciously aware of your own self and consciousness in his book, “Embracing Mind: The Common Ground of Science and Spirituality.” However, this idea of metaphysical materialism and naturalism can challenge this notion of conscious awareness because it involves this idea that our mind can persuade our body, whereas metaphysical materialism/ naturalism believes that the body persuades the mind. Therefore, Wallace’s look at conscious awareness is challenging the notion of metaphysical materialism and naturalism.

Intelligence and Consciousness are two very controversial topics discussed in neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. They are both labels for inner-workings of the brain, so they cannot easily be identified. The existence itself of intelligence is not very controversial, because it refers to the brain’s capacity for memory, learning, and ability to reason and problem-solve. However, the measurement of intelligence is very oversimplified and unreliable. Consciousness is significantly more debatable because it is essentially impossible (at least by today’s standards) to develop an objective list of criteria to identify consciousness. Very little is known about it other than the fact that we feel as if we have a single consciousness. The two

Consciousness is a pivotal element in human existence. According to Max Velmans and Susan Schneider The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness: "Anything that we are aware of at a given moment forms part of our consciousness”. As important as it is, scientists have trouble in coining the exact definition for consciousness. Even more shockingly, there have been studies that claim human do not make conscious decisions as we have always believed, such as the article Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain published by Nature Publishing Group in 2008, and in the BBC documentary The Secret You by Marcus du Sautoy.

Overall a majority of scientists believe that the brain alone creates conscious experience. The brain is described as a genetically programmed computer whose electrical and biochemical processes produce what we experience as thought and decision-making. It is therefore no surprise that science headlines today suggest that the experience of free-will is merely an illusion, a byproduct of so-called background noise in the brain. In popular media we are presented with the black and white dilemma. We must choose between reason and rationality or superstition and blind faith. However for decades some acclaim scientists around the world have conducted consciousness research that provides a very different picture.

The nature of human consciousness is ever debatable, questionable and somewhat unexplainable. We continuously make conscious decisions without recognition for how we as a species are capable of doing so, it is understood by materialistic science that our consciousness is a product of our brain activity and nothing more however there is an abundance of research that suggests this may not be the case and our conscious mind extends into our environment ultimately connecting us to

The conscious mind is a widely debated, undefined phenomenon. It can and has been simplified to three manifestations, the conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious, however, it is yet to be fully agreed upon what consciousness actually is (Corsini & Wedding, 2011).

The original source of the concept of consciousness is considered to come from the English Philosopher John Locke who perceived the term to be “the perception of what passes in a man’s own mind” (Locke 1690). The challenge of defining the term is even considered daunting as it is still found to be difficult in giving a specific definition. Although, most psychologists

Consciousness allows a person to recognize their existence, and subsequently, to form their essence. The

In Dr Branden’s initial chapters of his book, he explores the nature of human consciousness and its relationship to reality. He stresses the importance of

Human culture expands rapidly and our concept of consciousness is rapidly evolving with it. Philosophers have filled the void concerning the true nature of consciousness not yet determined by science. Despite the subjective nature of consciousness, perceived by many to be a personal and private aspect of human existence, neurobiologists are investigating and measuring objective characteristics of introspective reasoning and associated elements of morality. Most agree that consciousness is key to human happiness and belonging. I will argue that consciousness is a physiological phenomenon, equivalent to the concept of self, as well as a portal to one’s culture, collective experience and fulfillment. I contend that it is critical to

Consciousness poses the most baffling challenges in scientific realm of the mind. There’s nothing with which we share an intimate relation than conscious experience, but there’s nothing so strenuous or demanding to explain. Perhaps no other aspect of mind is more puzzling than this mystifying experience that we encounter in our every day life. There’s a widespread disparity amongst individuals regarding the existence of this entity. Some might argue that consciousness is not more than a foolish idea, though there are some stances where investigations over its existence hadn’t yield anything to prove it’s very existence in nature, while others have held an opposite view, and contended that its very existence can be explained in empirical

When the word consciousness is used regarding human beings, the word itself usually implies that those individuals are conscious of being conscious. Many individuals assume that the mind, the brain, and the body react as one. But the idea of the mind is not related to the concept of the brain or the body. These differences allow philosophers to determine a people’s consciousness in the world around them. Individuals derive the concept of consciousness from their experience because consciousness itself comes from one’s youth. Consciousness can be described as an individual’s ability to become aware of his or her surroundings including both the external and internal world which they are present in. The idea of consciousness can be explained by obtaining something simple and changing it into something complex, also known as the emergent property. The process of emergent property can be achieved in two steps that allow philosophers to determine who and what possess consciousness.

There are many features of consciousness that philosophers of the mind discuss and debate. Two are found within the philosophy of Russ McBride; they are: a) "…a conscious creature or subject"; and b) a "conscious mental state" (Manson, 2011, 100). Another philosophy professor, Michael Antony, sees two features that are commonly debated and dissected by scholars in and out of the field of philosophy. Those features are the "conscious state" and the "conscious creature" both of which will be further developed in this paper. Are mental states always "clearly conscious states"? Or are they "clearly not conscious?" Antony argues that it is impossible to accept that there could be any "borderline cases" or "fuzzy boundaries" for concepts of consciousness (Antony, 2008). Antony's and other approaches to consciousness are reviewed and critiqued in this paper.