Consciousness

Definition

Consciousness is being aware of something internal to one's self or of states or objects in one's external environment. It has been the topic of extensive explanations, analyses, and debate among philosophers, scientists, and theologians for millennia. There is no consensus on what exactly needs to be studied, or even if consciousness can be considered a scientific concept. In some explanations, it is synonymous with mind, while in others it is considered an aspect of it.

Related concepts

A Course in Miracles A Dictionary of the English Language A Universe of Consciousness A series and B series Absence seizure Abstract and concrete Active inference Ada Lovelace Adaptation Advaita Vedanta Aesthetic interpretation Affective forecasting Afterlife Age of Enlightenment Agnosia Ahimsa Aikido Akashic records Akilathirattu Ammanai Alan Turing Alexander Bain (philosopher)Alexander Luria Alfred North Whitehead Allan Hobson Altered level of consciousness Altered state of consciousness Altruism Alva Noë Alvin Goldman Amodal perception Analytical Engine Anattā Andy Clark Anesthesia Anil Seth Animal consciousness Animal machine Animal rights movement Annaka Harris Anomalous monism Anosognosia Anterior cingulate cortex Anterior insular cortex Anthropology Anthroposophy Antonio Damasio Anton–Babinski syndrome António Damásio Archbishop Ussher Aristotle Arnold J. Sameroff Arousal Arthur Lester Benton Arthur Schopenhauer Artificial consciousness Artificial intelligence Asceticism Association (psychology)Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness Astrology Attention Attention schema theory Attentional control Automata Awareness Baruch Spinoza Bat Behaviorism Bender-Gestalt Test Benjamin Libet Benton Visual Retention Test Bernard Baars Bertrand Russell Bhajan Bhakti Bible Bicameral mentality Binding problem Binocular rivalry Bioethics Biological evolution Biological naturalism Biomedical research Blessing Blindsight Bodhi Book of Mormon Born again Bottlenose dolphin Brain Brain death Brain function Brain–computer interface Brenda Milner Brian O'Shaughnessy (philosopher)British philosophy C. D. Broad C. I. Lewis C. S. Lewis Cambridge English Dictionary Cannabis (drug)Carl Jung Cartesian theater Case studies Catalina Curceanu Categorize Celibacy Cerebral cortex Ceremonial magic Chaitanya (consciousness)Chakra Channelling (mediumistic)Chant Charity (Christian virtue)Charles Augustus Strong Charles Babbage Charles Richard Elrington Charles Tart Chinese room Chris Frith Christian List Christian revival Christof Koch Christopher Peacocke Cicero Circular definition Claustrum Clinical Dementia Rating Clinical neuropsychology Cognition Cognitive architecture Cognitive closure (philosophy)Cognitive flexibility Cognitive liberty Cognitive neuroscience Cognitive science Colin McGinn Color vision Columbidae Coma Common octopus Compassion Computational theory of mind Computer scientist Computing Machinery and Intelligence Concept Conscience Conscientiousness Conscious (disambiguation)Consciousness (disambiguation)Consciousness Explained Consciousness after death Consciousness and Cognition Consciousness causes collapse Contemplation Continuous Performance Task Cosmic Consciousness Cosmogony Cosmology Creation myth Creativity Critical thinking D'Alembert Damasio's theory of consciousness Daniel Dennett Daniel Kahneman Daniel Kolak Daniel Schacter Darshan (Indian religions)David Bohm David Chalmers David Hume David Lewis (philosopher)David Malet Armstrong David Papineau David Pearce (philosopher)Decision-making Decision making Dehaene–Changeux model Deism Deity Delirium Dementia Denotation Depth perception Derek Parfit Dhammapada Dharma Dharmakirti Dhikr Diderot Differential diagnosis Dimethyltryptamine Disorders of consciousness Divided consciousness Divine embodiment Divinization (Christian)Donald D. Hoffman Donald Davidson (philosopher)Donald Griffin Donald Michie Donald O. Hebb Double-aspect theory Douglas Hofstadter Dream Dual consciousness EEG Edith Kaplan Edmund Husserl Edward B. Titchener Edward Craig (philosopher)Egocentric presentism Ekam Electroencephalography Electromagnetic theories of consciousness Elephants Eliminative materialism Elkhonon Goldberg Emanationism Embodied cognition Emergent materialism Emergentism Empathogen-entactogen Empathy Encoding (memory)Encyclopédie English language Enlightenment in Buddhism Entheogen Epilepsy Epilepsy & Behavior Epiphenomenalism Epiphenomenalist Epistemology Erwin Schrödinger Eschatology Essay Concerning Human Understanding Eternal return Eternity Ethanol Eugene Wigner Eurasian magpie Eutheism, dystheism, and maltheism Evan Thompson Evolutionary biology Exaptation Executive functions Existence Exorcism Experience Experiential avoidance Experiment Experimental philosophy Explanatory gap FMRI FOUR score Faith Faith healing Fasting Fatigue Feelings Fitness (biology)Flash suppression Forecasting Foresight (psychology)Forgiveness Form perception Francis Crick Francisco Varela Frank Cameron Jackson Franz Brentano Fred Dretske Free will Freudian psychology Functionalism (philosophy of mind)G. E. M. Anscombe G. F. Stout Galen Strawson Gamma wave General anesthesia Geology George Berkeley George Henry Lewes George Mandler George Washington University Georges Rey Gerald Edelman Gilbert Ryle Giulio Tononi Glasgow Coma Scale Global workspace theory Gloss (annotation)Gnosticism God Golden Rule Golem Gordon G. Gallup Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gratitude Great Awakening Guru Guru Granth Sahib Gustav Fechner Gödel's incompleteness theorems HM (patient)Habenula Hallucination Hallucination (artificial intelligence)Haptic perception Hard problem of consciousness Harmonic Hayling and Brixton tests Hemispatial neglect Henotheism Henri Bergson Hermeticism Heterophenomenology Higher-order theories of consciousness Higher consciousness Hilary Putnam Hindu texts History of psychology Holonomic brain theory Hominidae Homunculus Honesty Hope How the Self Controls Its Brain Human brain Human intelligence Hymn Hypostatic abstraction I Ching Iconolatry Idea Idealism Identity (philosophy)Igor Aleksander Illusion Imagination Immanuel Kant Induced coma Information processing (psychology)Inner peace Institute of Higher Nervous Activity Integrated information theory Intelligence Intensive care unit Intention Intentionality Interactionism (philosophy of mind)Interoception Introspection Introspection illusion Intuition Involution (esotericism)Ironic process theory J. L. Austin James Joyce James Ussher Japa Jargon Jean-Paul Sartre Jerry Fodor Jesper Mogensen Jesse Prinz Jihad Joaquin Fuster Johann Friedrich Herbart Johari window John Eccles (neurophysiologist)John Locke John Polkinghorne John R. Searle John Searle John Searle (American philosopher)John Stuart Mill Joseph Levine (philosopher)Journal of Consciousness Studies Julian Jaynes Julien Offray de La Mettrie Jürgen Schmidhuber KC (patient)Kabbalah Karen Ann Quinlan case Karl Friston Karl H. Pribram Karl Popper Karma Kathenotheism Katherine Nelson Keith Frankish Ken Wilber Kenneth Heilman Kenneth M. Sayre Kenneth Williford Kevala jnana Kindness Kinomichi Knowledge argument Koan Krista and Tatiana Hogan Kurt Goldstein Kurt Koffka Language of thought hypothesis Large language model Lataif-e-Sitta Latin Lawrence Weiskrantz Learning Leviathan (Hobbes book)Lexical decision task Lexico Life Linguistics Lionel Naccache List of misconceptions about the brain List of philosophers of mind List of regions in the human brain Locked-in syndrome Love Ludwig Wittgenstein Lysergic acid diethylamide MDMA Magnetic resonance imaging Maitrī Man a Machine Mantra Martin Heidegger Martinism Martyr Marvin Minsky Materialism Maurice Merleau-Ponty Max Planck Max Velmans Max Wertheimer Meaning of life Medial temporal lobe Medicine Meditation Memory Memory consolidation Mental event Mental image Mental process Mental representation Mental state Mental substance Mercy Mescaline Metacognition Metacognitive Metaphor Metaphysics Michael Gazzaniga Michael Graziano Michael Tye (philosopher)Microtubule Mind Mind's eye Mindfulness Mindstream Mind–body dualism Mind–body problem Minimally conscious state Minister (Christianity)Mini–mental state examination Miracle Mirror test Models of consciousness Modern paganism Moksha Monasticism Monism Monolatry Monotheism Moral courage Morris Moscovitch Motor coordination Multiple drafts model Muraqabah Muriel Lezak Mysticism Natural language Natural order (philosophy)Natural selection Nature Naïve realism Necker cube Ned Block Neoplatonism Neural correlates of consciousness Neural oscillations Neuroanatomy Neurological examination Neurology Neurophenomenology Neurophysiology Neuropsychological assessment Neuropsychological test Neuropsychology Neuroscience Neuroscience of free will Neuroscientist Neutral monism New mysterianism Nick Bostrom Nikos Logothetis Nirvana Noam Chomsky Nondualism Nonresistance Nonviolence Norman Geschwind Occam's razor Occasionalism Oliver Sacks Online Consciousness Conference Ontology Open individualism Operational definition Orca Orch-OR Orchestrated objective reduction Outline of spirituality Owen Barfield Owen Flanagan PLOS One Pacifism Paediatric Glasgow Coma Scale Pain (philosophy)Pandeism Panentheism Panpsychism Pantheism Paracelsianism Paranormal Parapsychology Parietal lobe Patience Patricia Churchland Patrick Wilken Paul Churchland Paul Tannery Peng (mythology)Perception Peripheral vision Persistent vegetative state Personal identity Perspectival realism Peter Carruthers (philosopher)Peter Hacker Phenomenal Phenomenalism Phenomenology (philosophy)Phenomenology (psychology)Phenomenon Phenotypic trait Philip David Zelazo Philip Goff (philosopher)Philosophical realism Philosophical zombie Philosophy of artificial intelligence Philosophy of information Philosophy of mind Philosophy of perception Philosophy of self Phineas Gage Phrenology Phylogenetic tree Physicalism Pig Pilgrimage Pineal gland Pitch (music)Plane (esotericism)Planning Plant perception (paranormal)Plato Polytheism Pontine tegmentum Prayer Prefrontal cortex Prem Saran Satsangi Primary consciousness Primary visual cortex Priming (psychology)Problem-solving Problem of other minds Problem solving Property dualism Prophecy Propositional attitude Prospection Pseudobulbar palsy Psilocybin Psyche (consciousness journal)Psychedelic drug Psychedelic drugs Psychoacoustics Psychoactive drug Psychology Psychophysical parallelism Psychosis Purusha Pygmalion (mythology)Qawwali Qi Qigong Quadriplegia Qualia Quantum entanglement Quantum mechanics Quantum mind Quercus Quran RGB color model Ralph Barton Perry Rapid eye movement sleep Reality Reality testing Reasons and Persons Recall (memory)Recurrent thalamo-cortical resonance Reentry (neural circuitry)Reflexive monism Reincarnation Relational frame theory Religion Religious ecstasy Religious music René Descartes Repentance Res extensa Response priming Revelation Revisionary materialism Richard Maurice Bucke Richard Rorty Ritual Robert Fludd Robert Stickgold Robin Carhart-Harris Robotics Robyn Fivush Rodolfo Llinás Roger Penrose Roger Wolcott Sperry Rosicrucianism Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Sacrament Sacrifice Sahaj Marg Saint Sakshi (witness)Salvador Luria Salvation Sam Harris Samadhi Samatha-vipassanā Samuel Johnson Satguru Satori Scholarpedia Scientific literature Secondary consciousness Sedative Self-awareness Self-consciousness Self-realization Sentience Sentientism Serotonin Set (psychology)Seven virtues Shabda Shamanism Sigmund Freud Simple living Simran Situated cognition Sleep Social perception Society for Consciousness Studies Sociology of human consciousness Solipsism Soul Spandrel (biology)Speaking in tongues Speech perception Spirit possession Spiritual evolution Spiritual practice Spiritualism (beliefs)Spirituality Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Stanislas Dehaene States of matter Stephen Hawking Stephen Yablo Stevan Harnad Steven Laureys Steven Pinker Stimulant Stimulus (physiology)Storage (memory)Stream of consciousness (narrative mode)Stream of consciousness (psychology)Stroke Stroop effect Stuart Hameroff Stuart Sutherland Subconscious Subjective character of experience Subjectivity Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy)Subliminal stimuli Substance dualism Sufi whirling Sufism Supernatural Supplication Susan Blackmore Susan Schneider Symbol grounding Synchronicity Synesthesia Sādhanā T.H. Huxley Tabula rasa Tai chi Tao Tao Te Ching Taoism Tattva Technology Teletransportation paradox Temporal lobe Testimony Thalami The Astonishing Hypothesis The Book of the Law The Cloud of Unknowing The Concept of Mind The Conscious Mind The Emperor's New Mind The Encyclopedia of Philosophy The Mind's I The Science of Consciousness The Urantia Book The View from Nowhere The hard problem of consciousness Theism Thelema Theophany Theory of mind Theosophy Thomas Aquinas Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Hobbes Thomas Metzinger Thomas Nagel Thought Thought suppression Tithe Tonic–clonic seizure Torah Touch Townsend's big-eared bat Transcendentalism Transcranial direct-current stimulation Transcranial magnetic stimulation Traumatic brain injury Turing test Tyler Burge Type physicalism Ulysses (novel)Unconscious mind Unconsciousness Understanding Understanding Consciousness University of Cambridge Upanishads Vasubandhu Vedanta Vegetarianism Veneration Veneration of the dead Ventriloquism effect Vertiginous question Vestment Victor J. Stenger Virginia Woolf Virtue Visual masking Visual perception Vitalism Volition (psychology)Wabi-sabi Wave function collapse Webster's Third New International Dictionary Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale What Is It Like to Be a Bat?What Is it Like to Be a Bat?Wider than the Sky Wilfrid Sellars Wilhelm Wundt William James William Kingdon Clifford William Lycan William Seager (philosopher)Wisconsin card sort Wisdom Wolf Singer Wolfgang Köhler Wolfgang Pauli Worship Yana (Buddhism)Yoga Yogachara Yuga Zazen Zhuang Zhou Zhuangzi (book)Ātman (Hinduism)Śūnyatā

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