From Derek Bolton, Sydney, Australia
To me, consciousness means that narrative that runs in my head, like a film with added senses. Graziano appears at first to take the same view, but then conflates it with concepts that probably belong to a “lower” layer.
A key fact about this narrative, as found by Benjamin Libet, is that it runs about half a second behind reality (11 August 2012, p 10). This suggests a model of at least these three layers: independent parallel processes, analysing inputs and competing for attention; a resolution layer that selects actions based on the competing drives and embodies attention and the “global workspace”; and a narrative layer, synthesising inputs and chosen actions into experience. A delay is necessary because different sensory inputs have different processing path lengths. Maladjusted delays may well be responsible for room-spinning and speech-slurring when drunk, and for déjà vu.
If this is correct, it reopens the question of what consciousness is for. I suggest it comes into its own when we need to stop and think. It provides a feedback to the lower levels, allowing more sustained consideration of a subject.
Advertisement
