Philosophy Glossary
From Claygate
C
consciousness Modern neuroscience definition: any kind of subjective experience whatsoever. Hegel's definition: the relation of the "Ego" to an object, which can be either external or internal
D
dualism the belief that consciousness (mind) and physical matter are separate substaces or modes of existence, raising the tricky oroblem of how the two ever interact.
E
epiphenomenalism a philosophical theory stating that mental events are caused by physical brain events, but the mental events themselves have no causal effect on the physical world. Mental states are considered by-products, or "epiphenomena," of physical processes, like steam from a locomotive which has no effect on its work.
F
functionalism the idea that consciousness depends, not on what a system is made of, but only on what the system does, on the functions it performs, on how it tranforms inputs into outputs.
I
idealism the idea that consciousness (or mind) is the ultimate source of reality, not phsical stuff or matter.
L
locked-in syndrome a condition where consciousness is fully present despite total paralysis of the body.
M
materialism see PHYSICALISM.
mysterianism the idea that there may exist a complete physical explanation of consciousness, but that we humans will never be clever enough to discover this solution.
N
naive dualism the seductive intuition that conscious expereinces seem non-physical, driving a belief about how things actually are.
O
ontology the study of what exists; a set of concepts and categories in a subject area or domain that shows their properties and the relations between them.
P
panpsychism the idea that consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe, alongside other fundamental properties such as mass/energy and charge; that it is present to some degree everywhere and in everything.
phenomenology the subjective properties of conscious experience.
physicalism the idea that the universe is made of physical stuff, and that conscious states are either identical to, or somehow emerge from, particular arrangements of this physical stuff.
Q
qualia the subjective, conscious experiences of an individual, such as the taste of a lemon, the pain of a headache, or the redness of a sunset.
V
vegetative state a catastrophic condition in which a person still cycles through sleep and wakefulness but shows no behavioural signs of conscious awareness.
vitalism the belief that the property of being alive could only be explained by appealing to some special sauce: a spark of life.
