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What is consciousness?

M Solms1

  • 1Academic Department of Neurosurgery, Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, England.

Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|January 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study explores how brain processes cause consciousness, offering a new psychoanalytic perspective based on Freud's theories. It reanalyzes existing examples to provide a radical solution to this enduring scientific and philosophical question.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychoanalysis

Background:

  • The mind-body problem, specifically how physical brain processes generate consciousness, remains a central question in science and philosophy.
  • Despite significant efforts in cognitive science, a definitive empirical solution to the problem of consciousness has not been achieved.
  • Leading researchers like Crick, Dennett, Edelman, Penrose, and Rosenfield have yet to provide a satisfactory explanation for consciousness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To contribute a psychoanalytic perspective to the interdisciplinary quest for understanding consciousness.
  • To offer an alternative answer to the question of how the brain causes consciousness, grounded in Freudian metapsychology.
  • To demonstrate the utility of Freud's conceptual framework in addressing the problem of consciousness.

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Main Methods:

  • Reanalysis of a specific example from Searle's review of consciousness literature.
  • Application of Freud's metapsychological framework to reframe the problem of consciousness.
  • Interdisciplinary approach integrating psychoanalytic theory with cognitive science and neuroscience.

Main Results:

  • The Freudian metapsychological frame of reference offers a novel and radical solution to the problem of consciousness.
  • A specific example, previously unresolved, is reinterpreted to demonstrate the efficacy of the psychoanalytic approach.
  • The study highlights previously unrecognized implications of Freud's work for understanding consciousness.

Conclusions:

  • Freud's conceptualization of consciousness provides a valuable, albeit underutilized, framework for scientific inquiry.
  • Psychoanalytic theory can offer unique insights into the physical basis of consciousness, complementing other scientific approaches.
  • This work suggests a new direction for research into the neurobiological underpinnings of subjective experience.