Secondary Consciousness Begins with the Idea of the Future
If you are like me, you have wondered what mysterious steps were taken for our brain to develop from a simple, instinctual one to one of human intelligence. The answer…
Truth Is a Function of Familiarity
Humans have sought something called “truth” for millennia. But, especially recently, we are beginning to take note of some of the challenges which steer us down the wrong path. Awareness…
Focused Attention in High-Salience Situations
A previous article was concerned with how the brain shifts to a broadened attention when not much is going on in our environment. We can also look at how the…
Understanding Thoughts: Listening to the Subtle Actions and Perceptions
As with many of the concepts in psychology and philosophy of mind, the term “thought” is extremely vague. This vagueness has to be one of the main hurdles for much…
The Conscious Is the Evidence of Unconscious
Our understanding of our own consciousness lies largely in analyzing the experiences after they happen. We see evidence of the unconscious, moment by moment, determining our conscious state.
Thinking: A Fantasy of Emotion and Prediction
We talk stimulus and response, but most of our lives are spent without anything terribly stimulating going on. In these moments, our thoughts are the salient stimuli; ideas are the new perceptions. This opens up a whole new dynamic experience for psychology to talk about.
The Stream of Consciousness and Its Tributaries: Blending Memory and Presence
Although our stream of consciousness, by its very nature, exists only in the present, its directions are determined a great deal by the past. Our stream of consciousness depends upon…
Being in the Situation: Creating a Feeling of Context in Working Memory
As discussed before, long-term memory sets down pathways by strengthening some connections and inhibiting others. We create many concepts by the bundling of active neural tracts. We have a somewhat…
Interpreting the Present: The Basic Task of Long-Term Memory
It is always perplexing to comprehend the ability of the human brain, but it may be even more shocking to realize that it must do all this work in real…
The Illusion of Pure Sensation and Reality of Interpretation
Some people claim to mistrust their senses, calling it all an illusion with Cartesian enthusiasm. You may have thought these people were a little crazy. Or you may have agreed…