Extending Gurwitsch's field theory of consciousness.
Aron Gurwitsch's theory of the structure and dynamics of consciousness has much to offer contemporary theorizing about consciousness and its basis in the embodied brain. On Gurwitsch's account, as we develop it, the field of consciousness has a variable sized focus or "theme" of attention surrounded by a structured periphery of inattentional contents. As the field evolves, its contents change their status, sometimes smoothly, sometimes abruptly. Inner thoughts, a sense of one's body, and the physical environment are dominant field contents. These ideas can be linked with (and help unify) contemporary theories about the neural correlates of consciousness, inattention, the small world structure of the brain, meta-stable dynamics, embodied cognition, and predictive coding in the brain.
Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA. Electronic address: jyoshimi@ucmerced.edu.
Jeff
J
Yoshimi
Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA.
David W
DW
Vinson
D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011584:Psychology / Q000266:history*
Attention; Embodied cognition; Global neuronal workspace; Gurwitsch; Inattention; Meta-stable dynamics; Neural correlates of consciousness; Phenomenology; Predictive coding; Small world networks