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    The non-finding of consciousness in introspection is not ... — Carmelics
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    The non-finding of consciousness in introspection is not evidence of consciousness's non-existence.

    Consciousness & Mind
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Introspection is a fallible, theory-laden cognitive process, not a transparent window onto mental reality, as shown by Nisbett and Wilson's 1977 empirical work.
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    • 2.What introspection reveals is the content of consciousness, not consciousness itself as its own object, a distinction central to Husserl's phenomenological method.
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    • 3.The failure to locate X through method M is only evidence of X's absence if M is a reliable detector of X, which introspection demonstrably is not for foundational awareness.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Shankara's Advaita Vedanta holds that pure consciousness (cit) is the witness-subject (saksin) that illuminates all cognition and is therefore never itself an object of cognition.
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    • 2.A self-luminous ground condition cannot appear as an object within the field it constitutes, just as an eye cannot see itself seeing without optical mediation.
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    • 3.The objections in P1–P3 conflate consciousness as presupposed self-evidence with consciousness as an introspectively locatable object, conflating two distinct epistemic roles.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.One cannot deny their own consciousness without presupposing it.
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    • 2.Any dismissal of consciousness requires consciousness to be present to perform the dismissal.
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    • 3.Consciousness is self-evident and cannot admit its own absence.
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    Topics

    SkepticismConsciousness & Mind

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    Related

    A self-luminous ground condition cannot appear as an object within the field it ...Any dismissal of consciousness requires consciousness to be present to perform t...Consciousness is self-evident and cannot admit its own absence.Introspection is a fallible, theory-laden cognitive process, not a transparent w...
    +5 moreShow less
    One cannot deny their own consciousness without presupposing it.Shankara's Advaita Vedanta holds that pure consciousness (cit) is the witness-su...The failure to locate X through method M is only evidence of X's absence if M is...The objections in P1–P3 conflate consciousness as presupposed self-evidence with...What introspection reveals is the content of consciousness, not consciousness it...

    Similar

    When consciousness has no objects to illumine, no intentional experien...82%The absence of intentional experience does not entail the absence of c...82%If consciousness does not arise from nonconscious items, then explaini...82%Consciousness of the absence of objects is not the same as the absence...81%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: shankara
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    Witnessing consciousness is elusive because it is unobjectifiable. It escapes our attention because it stands behind cognitive intentionality and cannot attend to itself. One cannot isolate the witness by pulling it to one side and objects to another, for in drawing a line between the two, both become objects of consciousness. Consciousness cannot become an objective content of consciousness. If one infers that this non-finding of consciousness is evidence of its non-existence, Śaṅkara counters
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit