LECTURE 6

COGNITIVE THEORIES OF
CONSCIOUSNESS

David Pearson
Room T10, William Guild Building
Email: d.g.pearson@abdn.ac.uk
 Cognitive Theories
What function does consciousness perform?

• Baar’s Global Workspace Theory

• Dennett’s Multiple Drafts Theory
• Shanon’s Theory

• All three models share the assumption that human

consciousness is not unitary in nature.
 Global Workspace Theory
• Bernard Baars (1988; Baars et al., 1998) argues
that the function of consciousness is to broadcast
information to separate functional modules
through-out the brain.
• His ‘global workspace’ is a central processor
that contains the contents of consciousness.
• The Workspace functions as a cognitive
“blackboard”.
 Consciousness as a ‘Theatre’
• Baar’s theory addresses the problem of
access consciousness.
• Consciousness is enabled by working
memory, which provides a means to
control what information can become
conscious.
• To explain his theory Baar uses the
analogy of consciousness as a ‘theatre’.
• Working memory provides the ‘stage’ of
consciousness.
• We only become conscious of information
held in working memory if it is selected
by the central executive.
• Central idea of Baar’s theory is that once a
representation becomes conscious it
becomes available to other cognitive
processes.
Criticism
• Baar’s theory does not address the
problem of phenomenal consciousness
(i.e., Chalmer’s ‘hard’ problem).
 Multiple Drafts Theory
• Daniel Dennett argues in his book
Consciousness Explained (1991) that
consciousness is not an all-or-nothing
phenomena that occurs the same way every
time.
• Dennett rejects the idea of consciousness as a
‘theatre’.
• Consciousness does not occur in a single area; it
is an abstraction.
• The foundation of Dennett’s theory is that the
brain cannot process all incoming sensory
information simultaneously.
• The fact that we experience consciousness as
being ‘on-line’ is therefore an illusion.
• Consciousness results from the activation of
revised collections of sensory information called
drafts.
• Conscious experience is an updating, constantly
revising process that takes into account sensory
information arriving at different times and in
different forms.
• Dennett uses the analogy of an author constantly
redrafting and revising a manuscript.
• Multiple drafts of sensory information are
assembled at particular points in time to form
the basis of conscious experience.
“Information entering the nervous system is under
continuous ‘editorial revision’…the Multiple
Drafts model avoids the mistake of supposing
that there must be a single narrative (the ‘final’
or ‘publishable’ draft, you might say) that is
canonical…”
Dennett, 1991.
Criticism
• Although Dennett rejects the concept of a
single ‘theatre’ of consciousness, it could
be argued that his multiple drafts simply
represent a larger collection of smaller
such‘theatres’.
 Shanon’s Consciousness Theory
• Benny Shanon (1990; 1998) argues that
consciousness comprises three distinct
components.
• Shanon’s theory focuses on the phenomenology
of human consciousness.
• Argues that features that are specific to
phenomenal experience are of distinct functional
advantage.
• Attempts to address issue of phenomenal
consciousness.
(1) Sensed Being
• Ability to distinguish between animate
and living and inanimate and dead.
• Sensed Being is a prerequisite of
consciousness.
2) Mental Awareness
• Self-awareness of the contents of
consciousness.
• This forms the core of conscious
experience.
(3) Reflection
• Awareness of mental computations (or
‘mentations’) that can be the subject of
future computations.
• Reflection is derived from conscious
experience.
Meta-observation – reflection on the content
of mental states
Monitoring or Control – control process that
guides or governs thinking by checking
and evaluating thoughts.
Criticisms
• Very difficult to empirically test Shanon’s
theory.
• Different components are vaguely defined
– theory offers a description of
consciousness rather than an explanation.
 Important Issues in
Consciousness Studies
• Can computers ever duplicate human
consciousness?
• Is consciousness really necessary in
cognition?
 Does the brain work like a
computer?
• Over the last 40 years cognitive psychology has used
microcomputers as an analogy for the human brain.
• General-purpose computers have three main
features:
(1) Input and output devices that allow the user to
communicate with the computer.
(2) A memory system that permits the storage of
information.
(3) A central processor that controls the major functions
of the computer.
• In principle a computer can be
programmed to duplicate the principle
cognitive functions of perception,
memory, and problem-solving.
• Such computer simulations include visual
pattern recognition, speech
comprehension, reading, movement
control, mental imagery, and memory.
• The construction of computer programs
that simulate human mental functions is
called artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence
• Computer simulations require formal
modelling of cognitive functions.
• Establishing what steps are necessary for a
computer to simulate a cognitive ability
may give insight into the kinds of process
the brain must perform.
• Critics argue that computers may perform
tasks in an entirely different way to the
human brain.
• Computer processing maps poorly onto
human performance of similar tasks.
• Majority of computers rely on serial
processing.
• In contrast the brain appears to utilise
parallel processing.
• Strong A.I. position states that a computer
which exactly duplicates the functions of
the brain would by definition become
conscious.
• Critics argue that true consciousness can
never be achieved by an artificial non-
organic system.
 Is Consciousness Really
Necessary?
• Being able to monitor and control our behaviour
are consequences of information being shared
across cognitive modules.
• These are functions of access consciousness.
• How important is phenomenal consciousness
for cognitive functioning?
• Philosophers use the concept of zombies.
Cognitive “Zombies”
• ‘Zombies’ are hypothetical beings that possess
exactly the same cognitive processes as we do,
but without conscious experience.
• Conscious experience does not appear to be an
inevitable consequence of cognitive and neural
processing.
• The majority of cognitive models do not feature
a functional role for phenomenal consciousness.
• Some argue that phenomenal consciousness is
an epiphenomenon of neural and cognitive
processing (i.e., a by-product that plays no
functional role in the system).
 Summary
• Cognitive models of consciousness share the
assumption that it is non-unitary in nature.
• Artificial Intelligence creates computer
programs that simulate human mental functions.
• Access consciousness is essential for normal
cognition.
• Major issue in consciousness studies is what
function phenomenal consciousness may play
during human cognition.
 General Points
• Make sure that you read the consciousness
chapter in Martin. Also read the ‘Drugs
and Behaviour’ section in Chapter 4.
• Also consider looking at alternative
textbooks like Bernstein or Gleitman.
• Questions on this section of the course
will feature material from all six lectures.