Papers by Nicholas Humphrey
Social Research, 2020
Conscious experience would seem to be unknowable at two levels. The privacy of consciousness mean... more Conscious experience would seem to be unknowable at two levels. The privacy of consciousness means we each know something no one else can know. The explanatory opacity of consciousness means we know something no theorist knows how to explain. These two issues tie into each other in revealing ways.
Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2019
Problem reports result from several misunderstandings about the nature and functions of phenomena... more Problem reports result from several misunderstandings about the nature and functions of phenomenal consciousness. I discuss some philosophical and scientific correctives that, taken together, can make the hard problem seem less hard.
Singh's analysis has much to be said for it. However, when considering the treatment of illness, ... more Singh's analysis has much to be said for it. However, when considering the treatment of illness, he begins from a shaky premise about uncontrollability, and so fails to make the most of what shamanic treatments – as placebos – can deliver.
In English we use the word 'invention' in two ways. First, to mean a new device or process develo... more In English we use the word 'invention' in two ways. First, to mean a new device or process developed by experimentation, and designed to fulfill a practical goal. Second, to mean a mental fabrication, especially a false- hood, designed to please or persuade. In this paper I argue that human consciousness is an invention in both respects. First, it is a cognitive faculty, evolved by natural selection, designed to help us make sense of ourselves and our sur- roundings. But then, second, it is a fantasy, conjured up by the brain, designed to change the value we place on our existence.
At some point in evolutionary history, human beings came to understand, as no non-human animals d... more At some point in evolutionary history, human beings came to understand, as no non-human animals do, that death brings to an end a person's bodily and mental presence in the world. A potentially devastating consequence was that individuals, seeking to escape physical or mental pain, might choose to kill themselves. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolutionary thanatology: impacts of the dead on the living in humans and other animals'.
The sensation of red light falling on your eyes has something in common with the experience of lo... more The sensation of red light falling on your eyes has something in common with the experience of looking at a cartoon in the New Yorker. The phenomenal quality of the sensation and the funniness of the joke are both properties of your subjective take on an external event and both arise in two steps. With sensations, (1) your brain responds to signals from bodily sense organs with an internalized evaluative response; (2) your mind reads this response and represents what it's like as the subjective property of redness. With jokes, (1) the cartoonist creates a clever drawing; (2) your mind takes in the drawing and represents what it's like as the subjective property of funniness. This analogy -deliberately deflationary -helps elucidate the nature of phenomenal consciousness and its neural correlates, and exposes the 'hard problem' as a conceptual error.
Sensations represent our subjective 'take' on sensory stimulation -how we feel about red light fa... more Sensations represent our subjective 'take' on sensory stimulation -how we feel about red light falling on the retina, salt dissolving on the tongue, a thorn piercing the skin. They tell -in the language of phenomenal properties -what the experience is like for us. In so far as they represent the reality of this subjective relationship, they cannot be said to be illusory. The relationship, magical as it may seem, is not being misrepresented as something it is not. If anything, it is being represented as something 'super-real'.
contrast, Helen did integrate the Reach and the Grasp to take food from her mouth, demonstrating ... more contrast, Helen did integrate the Reach and the Grasp to take food from her mouth, demonstrating that she could integrate the movements using online tactile cues. The finding that extrastriate pathways can direct the hand toward extrinsic target properties (location) but not intrinsic target properties (size and shape) is discussed as a novel addition to dual visuomotor channel theory.
... Una historia de la mente: la evolución y el nacimiento de la conciencia. Información General.... more ... Una historia de la mente: la evolución y el nacimiento de la conciencia. Información General. Autores: Nicholas Humphrey; Editores: Gedisa; Año de publicación: 1995; País: España; Idioma: Español; ISBN : 84-7432-538-2. Otros catálogos. ...
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
A History of the Mind, 1992
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Papers by Nicholas Humphrey