The HOROR theory of phenomenal consciousness

Reconstructing (phenomenal) Consciousness

To Kevin, tireless organizer of philosophical research, tremendously generous supporter of young people, delightful host, brilliant philosopher (in random order). With herzlichen Dank, for the great sympathy and encouragement he has given me. I hope he will forgive me for dedicating to him this paper, which seems not to be much concerned with his philosophical work; but I am comforted by the fa...

Moral significance of phenomenal consciousness.

Recent work in neuroimaging suggests that some patients diagnosed as being in the persistent vegetative state are actually conscious. In this paper, we critically examine this new evidence. We argue that though it remains open to alternative interpretations, it strongly suggests the presence of consciousness in some patients. However, we argue that its ethical significance is less than many peo...

Some aspects of phenomenal consciousness

On the evolution of phenomenal consciousness

A number of concepts are included in the term “consciousness”. We choose to concentrate here on phenomenal consciousness, the process through which we are able to experience aspects of our environment or of our physical state. We probably share this aspect of consciousness with many animals which, like us, feel pain or pleasure and experience colours, sounds, flavours, etc. Since phenomenal con...

Binding and the phenomenal unity of consciousness.

The binding problem is frequently discussed in consciousness research. However, it is by no means clear what the problem is supposed to be and how exactly it relates to consciousness. In the present paper the nature of the binding problem is clarified by distinguishing between different formulations of the problem. Some of them make no mention of consciousness, whereas others are directly relat...