2019/09/26 by Michael S. A. Graziano, Arvid Guterstam, Branden J. Bio +1 · 1 citation
Neuroscience · Psychology · #Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies #Action Observation and Synchronization #Face Recognition and Perception #Consciousness #Psychology #Schema (genetic algorithms) #Cognitive science #Cognition #Cognitive psychology #Electromagnetic theories of consciousness #Social cognition #Epistemology #Neuroscience #Computer science #Philosophy
paper · doi:10.1080/02643294.2019.1670630
openalex publication_date 2019/09/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/12
Here we examine how people's understanding of consciousness may have been shaped by an implicit theory of mind. This social cognition approach may help to make sense of an apparent divide between the physically incoherent consciousness we think we have and the complex, rich, but mechanistic consciousness we may actually have. We suggest this approach helps reconcile some of the current cognitive neuroscience theories of consciousness. We argue that a single, coherent explanation of consciousness is available and has been for some time, encompassing the views of many researchers, but is not yet recognized. It is obscured partly by terminological differences, and partly because researchers view isolated pieces of it as rival theories. It may be time to recognize that a deeper, coherent pool of ideas, a kind of standard model, is available to explain multiple layers of consciousness and how they relate to specific networks within the brain.