[EMAIL PROTECTED] asked "I think that the stages of sleep are differing states of consciousness, but what about the following, which came up in class today? alpha (awake, relaxed), when taking Benadryl or some other drugs with side effects of drowsiness, and a change in alertness and reaction time, daydreaming, hypnosis, meditation, jet lag, persistent vegetative state, coma, traumatic brain injury. Also, do all of these produce changes in consciousness? narcotics, barbiturates, depressants, stimulants?"
I think your problem is that you're not defining consciousness very well. How can you tell what's an altered state until you've defined the regular state? Personally, I don't like any "state" definition of consciousness. If you look at the standard definitions (e.g., attending to one's thoughts, perceptions, memories, emotions, etc.) you see that it's not a "state" at all. It's a process or function. To clarify: when you add a bunch of numbers in your head, are "in a state of addition" or are you "doing addition?" As far as I'm concerned, consciousness isn't a state you enter & leave, it's a process that you do. Benadryl, etc., may affect your level of arousal and/or ability to react to stimuli but arousal (or reactivity) isn't the same thing as consciousness. A fish, snake, or even an earthworm can be aroused but I hesitate to say it has consciousness. They don't have the brains for it. Heck, an earthworm doesn't even have a brain so much as a ganglion with delusions of grandeur. <g> If you've never read Julian Jaynes' discussion on "what consciousness is not" (In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind), it's really worth your time. Whether you agree with him or not, it's well thought out & exceedingly useful. Ed Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D. Department of Psychology West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA 19383 Office hours: Mon. 12-2 p.m. & 3-4 p.m.; Tues. & Thurs. 8- 9:15 a.m. & 11a.m. - 2 p.m. & by appt. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.htm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and herpetoculturist...... in approximate order of importance. --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
