Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Metaphysics (9)
- Social and Behavioral Sciences (7)
- Epistemology (5)
- Other Philosophy (5)
- Psychology (5)
-
- Cognition and Perception (3)
- Cognitive Neuroscience (3)
- Cognitive Psychology (3)
- Life Sciences (3)
- Neuroscience and Neurobiology (3)
- Philosophy of Science (3)
- Art Practice (2)
- Art and Design (2)
- Behavioral Economics (2)
- Continental Philosophy (2)
- Digital Humanities (2)
- Economics (2)
- English Language and Literature (2)
- Film and Media Studies (2)
- Other Film and Media Studies (2)
- Other Psychology (2)
- Painting (2)
- Personality and Social Contexts (2)
- Religion (2)
- Social Psychology (2)
- Social Psychology and Interaction (2)
- Sociology (2)
- Keyword
-
- Consciousness (7)
- Philosophy of Mind (4)
- Philosophy of mind (3)
- Cognitive Architecture (2)
- Fiction (2)
-
- Imagination (2)
- Metaphysics (2)
- Mind (2)
- Philosophy (2)
- Physicalism (2)
- Agency (1)
- Altered states of consciousness (1)
- Altruism (1)
- Apperception (1)
- Art (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Auden (1)
- Awareness (1)
- Baudrillard (1)
- Belief (1)
- Beliefs (1)
- Bergson (1)
- Blame (1)
- Bostrom (1)
- Buddhism (1)
- Chalmers (1)
- Conceivability (1)
- Consciousness-Raising (1)
- Contemplation (1)
- Credit (1)
- Publication Year
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 27 of 27
Full-Text Articles in Philosophy of Mind
Diagrammatic Contemplation, Khang Nguyen
Diagrammatic Contemplation, Khang Nguyen
The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal
This work presents the integration of contemplative practice engaging western and eastern philosophies about apperception, consciousness, presence with an art practice that uses diagrammatic contemplation as a basis for developing and presenting art. The aim is not just an optical effect, but to engage the viewer in experiencing non-dual consciousness.
What It Takes To "Become" Another: An Account Of Immersive Character Imagining, Ariana G. Didomenico
What It Takes To "Become" Another: An Account Of Immersive Character Imagining, Ariana G. Didomenico
Scripps Senior Theses
Often, when one engages with fiction, one imaginatively portrays the mental states of the characters within said fiction. Typically, when one does this, one relates to the character as separate from oneself, and is consciously aware that what they are imagining is fictional. However, this is not always the case: when one engages in what I will call ‘immersive c-imagining’, one feels roughly as though a character’s thoughts and feelings are one’s own. Furthermore, there is a special subtype of immersive c-imagining, ‘inferential immersive c-imagining’, which occurs when one immersively c-imagines while, at the same time, efficiently and accurately inferring …
Procedural Rhetoric And Prosociality: How Game Mechanics Shape Altruistic Decision-Making, Elijah Emory-Muhammad
Procedural Rhetoric And Prosociality: How Game Mechanics Shape Altruistic Decision-Making, Elijah Emory-Muhammad
CMC Senior Theses
This study investigates how different prosocial video game designs influence subsequent altruistic behavior, specifically comparing interactive narratives with procedural rhetoric. While prior research demonstrates that prosocial games can prime helpful behaviors, less is known about the underlying mechanical structures driving these effects. Fifteen participants engaged with either an Interactive Narrative Game (ING) or a Procedural Rhetoric Game (PRG) before completing a resource allocation task (Dictator Game). Results revealed no statistically significant differences between the two conditions in promoting sacrificial altruism or satisfying basic psychological needs. Instead, participants across both groups demonstrated a strong adherence to an equality-seeking norm, consistently choosing …
The Standing Of Anger: Insights From The Debate(S) On Constructed Emotion, Andrew Holzer
The Standing Of Anger: Insights From The Debate(S) On Constructed Emotion, Andrew Holzer
CMC Senior Theses
In her book, Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice, Martha Nussbaum argues that anger is inherently flawed because it fundamentally contains the desire for payback. To support her argument, she posits specific metaphysical claims about the nature of emotions like anger. This thesis is an extended critique of her metaphysical foundation from the perspective of empirical research in the neuroscience of emotion. The first reason to dispute this picture is descriptive; this view of anger is based on an outdated version of cognitive appraisal theory, which sees emotions as triggered directly by static moments of cognitive appraisal. The second …
Auden: Body/Mind, Basil Lloyd-Moffett
Auden: Body/Mind, Basil Lloyd-Moffett
CMC Senior Theses
On one hand Auden appears the most cerebral of poets. It is said that when he arrived at school, aged eight, he professed himself excited to study the different psychological types, and the cryptic verse that was to emerge over a decade later bears the scars of his reading, psychological or otherwise, as clearly as the relentlessly analytical Dichtung und Wahrheit and other late works.Absorbing and repurposing philosophical, psychological, religious, and scientific works was an essential part of his artistic strategy, and led to credible accusations of plagiarism on a number of occasions.And just as his collaborators and friends mocked …
Unveiling The Unseen: A Feminist Exploration Of Consciousness And Empowerment Among Homeless Women Through Consciousness-Raising, Scarlett Liu
CMC Senior Theses
Homeless women have been forgotten subject matter in the study and practice of feminist consciousness and consciousness-raising efforts. However, they grapple with the compounded challenges of both gender and homelessness within an oppressive societal structure. This thesis therefore seeks to conceptualize the consciousness of women, and particularly homeless women, in a feminist lens. Specifically, this thesis explores the Othering of women’s consciousness through the intellectual lineage of Simone de Beauvoir and Hegel, and emphasizes the role of material circumstances in shaping consciousness-raising efforts. Then, this thesis examines two unique struggles faced by homeless women – survival sex and homeless motherhood. …
Simulacra And Simulation Hypothesis: How Real Is Our Reality?, Annika Larson
Simulacra And Simulation Hypothesis: How Real Is Our Reality?, Annika Larson
CMC Senior Theses
Metaphysical quandaries have plagued humans for centuries, beginning with Plato, who in his Allegory of the Cave, illustrated a world where people misinterpreted shadows on the wall as reality. This paper examines the notion that our reality is a simulation, either created by us or by external forces. The ontological theories presented in this paper are mainly derived from the work of media theorist Jean Baudrillard and his concept of hyperreality as well as Nick Bostrom’s argument for the simulation hypothesis. I also analyze Slavoj Zizek’s comments on media depictions of simulations in mainstream movies like The Matrix and The …
Acquiring Knowledge Of Ultimate Reality Through Psychedelic Experience, Lia Harel
Acquiring Knowledge Of Ultimate Reality Through Psychedelic Experience, Lia Harel
CMC Senior Theses
Psychedelics have the power to induce in us an altered state of consciousness—a psychological experience radically different from our normal waking state of consciousness. Notable differences include changes in one’s perception of time, their sense of self, and the meaning and significance they attribute to things in their life. Across a broad range of testimonies, many people have reported characteristics of their psychedelic experience that bear a close resemblance to metaphysical accounts of ultimate reality from various cultures and time periods. In this paper, I explore the question of whether one can acquire knowledge of ultimate reality through psychedelic experience. …
Mental Disorders, The Positivity Effect, And Questions Of Identity And Responsibility, Liam Jones
Mental Disorders, The Positivity Effect, And Questions Of Identity And Responsibility, Liam Jones
Pitzer Senior Theses
In order to judge how behavior caused by the positivity effect should be considered, comparisons were made between the positivity effect and two mental disorders. These disorders, Tourette’s syndrome and psychopathy, were selected due to their extreme differences in what Strawsonian attitudes they inspire and how they are perceived relative to disordered patients’ will. Disorder-affected behavior of Tourette’s patients inspires the objective attitude and is seen as a condition affecting an individual’s will, while disorder-affected behavior of psychopaths inspires the interpersonal attitude and is seen as a character trait. Relevant distinctions between psychopathy and Tourette’s syndrome were found to include …
The Internet-Extended Mind: The Psychological Ramifications And Philosophical Implications Of Cognitive Offloading, Gloria Choi
The Internet-Extended Mind: The Psychological Ramifications And Philosophical Implications Of Cognitive Offloading, Gloria Choi
Scripps Senior Theses
In this thesis, I explore the internet-extended mind through both philosophical and psychological lenses in order to investigate the questions “To what extent is the mind extended onto the internet and, more generally, outside our bodies?” and “How will an increasingly internet-extended brain change the ways in which humans communicate, remember, and behave?”. First, I introduce the idea of a mind that extends out into the world, instead of lying solely in the brain. Then, I outline existing research that introduces the challenges and implications of an internet-extended mind in an ever-changing internet landscape. Next, I discuss how the internet …
The Ontological Significance Of Consciousness, Corydon Diamond
The Ontological Significance Of Consciousness, Corydon Diamond
CMC Senior Theses
Providing a wholly physical description of consciousness in nature is an elusive process. Unlike all other physical systems, consciousness seems to be explainable only if it is considered as non-physical. However, the arguments for a materialist view of consciousness, with consciousness prioritized as a process which creates imperfect dependence relations in reality, eliminates the need for a dualist understanding of reality. Through an explanation of imperfect dependence, materialist consciousness overcomes all relevant dualist arguments, while simultaneously retaining an epistemic gap, denying the conceivability of zombies, and providing convincing explanations of seemingly dualist positions in a materialist fashion.
The Psychosomatic Journey Of Trauma And Its Healing: A Comparative Synthesis Between Scientific And Psycho-Spiritual Perspectives, Isabel Kelly
Pomona Senior Theses
The purpose of this paper is to create a comparative synthesis between scientific perspectives and spiritual perspectives of understanding the psychosomatic (mind-body) nature of trauma. In order to do so we will consider the works of Dr.Bessel van der Kolk, a world-leading psychiatrist in the field of trauma therapy who advocates for the use of body-oriented approaches to healing, and the works of Carl Jung and Donald Kalsched. Jung is considered one of the founding fathers of the field of Transpersonal Psychology, while Kalsched is a Jungian psychoanalyst who specializes in working with trauma patients. We will see that while …
Global Consciousness: A Functionalist Neurophilosophical Perspective, Connor C. Bowen
Global Consciousness: A Functionalist Neurophilosophical Perspective, Connor C. Bowen
CMC Senior Theses
The purpose of this thesis is to explore a thought-provoking consequence of the functionalist theory of mind. Given the current organizational structure of Earth and field theories of consciousness in neuroscience, Earth is probably conscious. The argument is explored through an examination of the current organizational structure of Earth and field theories of consciousness in neuroscience, which leads to the conclusion that Earth is conscious. Various theories of mind have been proposed by neuroscientists and philosophers alike in an attempt to qualify what consciousness is and what provides the basis for consciousness to occur. Support, in the form of data …
Believing Fictions: A Philosophical Analysis Of Fictional Engagement, Jack Rhein Gleiberman
Believing Fictions: A Philosophical Analysis Of Fictional Engagement, Jack Rhein Gleiberman
CMC Senior Theses
Works of fiction do things to us, and we do things because of works of fiction. When reading Hamlet, I mentally represent certain propositions about its characters and events, I want the story and its characters to go a certain way, and I emotionally respond to its goings-on. I might deem Hamlet a coward, I might wish that Hamlet stabbed Claudius when he had the chance, and I might feel sorrow at Ophelia’s senseless suicide. These fiction-directed mental states seem to resemble the propositional attitudes of belief, desire, and emotion, respectively — the everyday attitudes that represent and orient us …
Pursuing Natural Unity, Consciousness Included, Rowen Cox-Rubien
Pursuing Natural Unity, Consciousness Included, Rowen Cox-Rubien
Scripps Senior Theses
An ontological exploration of consciousness and how it is related to the body and other aspects of physical reality. Framed by David Chalmers' conception of "The Hard Problem", we begin from a physicalist perspective to discuss the problem of mental causation, which is the inquiry of how the mind communicates and interacts with the body. From here we examine the employment of identity reduction to functionalize and therefore physically explain mentality. We find that reductionist methods, the backbone of scientific investigation, do not work to explain conscious experience, because conscious experience is not quantifiable--it is qualitative. Thus we are left …
Higher-Order Thought And Borderline Cases Of Consciousness: An Objection To Hot, Francesca Karin Beach
Higher-Order Thought And Borderline Cases Of Consciousness: An Objection To Hot, Francesca Karin Beach
Scripps Senior Theses
David Rosenthal, in his Higher-Order Thought (HOT) theory of consciousness, argues that it is a higher-order thought to the effect that the subject is in a conscious state that makes one conscious of his or her own mental states. In this paper, I argue that since phenomenal consciousness can be vague and Rosenthal’s HOT cannot, HOT is not a necessary condition of phenomenal consciousness. I use primarily Ned Blocks’ refrigerator hum case and Sartre’s example of non-positional awareness to argue that the threshold which determines the degree of first-person awareness necessary for a mental state to be conscious is vague …
In The Mind Of The Machine, Marcia Yang
In The Mind Of The Machine, Marcia Yang
CMC Senior Theses
As technology becomes more sophisticated, it becomes increasingly important to understand how we should ethically use technology. One question within this area of study is whether we should treat certain types of technology, like artificial intelligence, with more respect. If we do owe these machines some sort of moral status, another question is what level of moral status they have. In order to answer these questions, I argue that machines can be considered as minds under the view of machine functionalism. A significant problem for machine functionalism is whether it can account for emotions within the system it suggests. First, …
Owning Our Implicit Attitudes: Responsibility, Resentment, And The Whole Self, Wesley Whitaker
Owning Our Implicit Attitudes: Responsibility, Resentment, And The Whole Self, Wesley Whitaker
CMC Senior Theses
Are implicit biases something we can rightly be held responsible for, and if so, how? A variety of social and cognitive psychological studies have documented the existence of wide-ranging implicit biases for over 30 years. These implicit biases can best be described as negative mental attitudes that operate immediately and unconsciously in response to specific stimuli. The first chapter of this thesis surveys the psychological literature, as well as presents findings of real-world experiments into racial biases. I then present the dominant model of implicit attitudes as mere associations, followed by evidence that at least some implicit attitudes take on …
Elements Of Art, Mike Doyle
Elements Of Art, Mike Doyle
The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal
Through these paintings and my writing I share how elements of art and science overlap in the strokes of paint that create the perceptions of something familiar in our minds.
Real Intentions And Virtual Wrongs, Elaine Sohng
Real Intentions And Virtual Wrongs, Elaine Sohng
CMC Senior Theses
In this thesis, I answer the gamer's dilemma or the inability to find a moral distinction between virtual pedophilia and virtual murder. I expand virtual pedophilia to virtual rape to address increasing rates of sexual harassment and assault in virtual reality. In this thesis, I 1) explain what occurs when one engages in virtual rape; 2) identify relevant moral differences between physical rape and virtual rape; 3) challenge the existing relationship between committing harm and wrong in the case of rape; and 4) argue that virtual rape is morally reprehensible due to the agent’s intention to utilize a person as …
Transformative Experience: Are Real-World Experiences As Transformative As We Think?, Janelle Shiozaki
Transformative Experience: Are Real-World Experiences As Transformative As We Think?, Janelle Shiozaki
CMC Senior Theses
This thesis analyzes L.A. Paul’s concept of transformative experience. It specifically analyzes Paul’s criteria for transformative experiences (TEs), which are experiences that are so epistemically (ET) and personally transformative (PT) that an agent can’t know what it’s like to have a TE until having the experience itself. Paul argues that the transformative nature of these experiences prevent us from being able to make a rational choice using our normative way of decision-making. According to Paul, this is especially problematic because some of life’s biggest choices involve TEs. I begin with an overview of Paul’s main thought experiments that illustrate the …
The Numerous Forms Of Occam’S Razor And Their Effect On Philosophy Of Mind, Mikayla L. O'Neal
The Numerous Forms Of Occam’S Razor And Their Effect On Philosophy Of Mind, Mikayla L. O'Neal
CMC Senior Theses
In the first chapter of this paper I focus on the general overview of Occam's Razor, and develop several interpretations and adaptations of Occam's Razor as a principle of simplicity. In the second chapter I apply these different interpretations in the Physicalism/Dualism debate, and critically assess the validity of these implementations of Occam's Razor in philosophy of mind. In the final chapter I give an overview of my discussion thus far, and make assertions about what my paper means for the usage of Occam's Razor's as a whole.
Reducing Subjectivity: Meditation And Implicit Bias, Diana M. Ciuca
Reducing Subjectivity: Meditation And Implicit Bias, Diana M. Ciuca
CMC Senior Theses
Implicit association of racial stereotypes is brought about by social conditioning (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006). This conditioning can be explained by attractor networks (Sharp, 2011). Reducing implicit bias through meditation can show the effectiveness of reducing the rigidity of attractor networks, thereby reducing subjectivity. Mindfulness meditation has shown to reduce bias from the use of one single guided session conducted before performing an Implicit Association Test (Lueke & Gibson, 2015). Attachment to socially conditioned racial bias should become less prevalent through practicing meditation over time. An experimental model is proposed to test this claim along with a reconceptualization of consciousness …
'I Am Rooted, But I Flow': Virginia Woolf And 20th Century Thought, Emily Lauren Hanna
'I Am Rooted, But I Flow': Virginia Woolf And 20th Century Thought, Emily Lauren Hanna
Scripps Senior Theses
My thesis is about Virginia Woolf’s novels, Mrs. Dalloway, The Waves, and To the Lighthouse. I examine these novels in relation to the theories of Henri Bergson, William James, and Sigmund Freud, and the groundwork of Modernism. I relate Woolf's use of water imagery and stream of consciousness technique to Bergson’s theory of “la durée,” or psychological, subjective time, James’ “stream of consciousness” theory in psychology, and Freud’s theory of the “oceanic” feeling of religious experience.
Mary’S Dilemma: A Novel Take On Jackson’S Famous Thought Experiment, Noah O. Abolafia-Rosenzweig
Mary’S Dilemma: A Novel Take On Jackson’S Famous Thought Experiment, Noah O. Abolafia-Rosenzweig
CMC Senior Theses
This paper explores and evaluates the famous Mary case put forward by Frank Jackson in support of what he calls the knowledge argument against physicalism. After laying out Jackson’s position, I set out to determine whether certain previous physicalist attempts at undermining it have been successful. Finding that they have not, I use their shortcomings to inform the construction of a new position, one which I argue renders the Mary case at odds with itself and frees physicalism from the knowledge argument’s grasp.
A Theory Of Mental Credit, Jason Soll
A Theory Of Mental Credit, Jason Soll
CMC Senior Theses
Many philosophical subjects attempt to analyze the basis of human welfare. Theories of desert, distribution of property, and happiness tend to dominate philosophical discourse. Mental credit, which is the mental acquisition of credit for one’s accomplishments and the satisfaction one derives from this credit, is absent from this discourse despite its underlying role in the way people think about their lives. Mental credit is an eternal cognitive good that deserves thoughtful attention and pious decisions for implementation. The following theory of mental credit seeks to serve as a unifying theory for the mental calculations that guide life’s most imperative decisions, …
Does The Mind Extend Out Into The World, Andrew D. Kishino
Does The Mind Extend Out Into The World, Andrew D. Kishino
CMC Senior Theses
The extended mind debate juggles the possibilities of whether or not the mind extends out into the world. Today, with the rise in technology, we have an additional claim that our tools are responsible for extending our minds. The internet, smart phones, and other tools give us a foothold in the extended mind debate by providing real world examples of how our mind is perceived as extending out into the world. In discovering where the divide between mind and environment exists we can come up with a conclusion whether or not the mind truly extends out into the world.