Article2011

Attention is Rational-Access Consciousness

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Philosophy and Theoretical Science Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics Free Will and Agency

Abstract

This chapter argues that attention is a distinctive mode of consciousness, which plays an essential functional role in making information accessible for use in the rational control of thought and action. The main line of argument can be stated quite simply. Attention is what makes information fully accessible for use in the rational control of thought and action. But what makes information fully accessible for use in the rational control of thought and action is a distinctive mode of consciousness. Therefore, attention is a distinctive mode of consciousness. In a slogan: attention is rational-access consciousness.

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References

1891The Principles of Psychology 2016Perception and Communication 1960The information available in brief visual presentations.1963Actions, Reasons, and Causes 2001Towards a cognitive neuroscience of consciousness: basic evidence and a workspace framework 1982The varieties of reference 1971Decision and stress 2002Reference and Consciousness

Cited by

2019Combining Minds 2015The Role of Consciousness in Grasping and Understanding 2014The Erotetic Theory of Attention: Questions, Focus and Distraction 2014The Phenomenal Basis of Epistemic Justification 2022Introspective knowledge by acquaintance 2022Ignorance and Moral Responsibility 2022Non-Ideal Foundations of Language

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