PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Pineal Gland, Other Minds, Unconscious Mind

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: A.George Alder

Document Summary

Psychologists seek to understand the subjective perspectives of people who they study. Phenomenology: how things seem to the conscious person in their understanding of mind + behaviour. Problem of other minds: the fundamental difficulty we have in perceiving the consciousness of others. Person can tell you they are conscious, describe in depth how they feel, how they think, what they are experiencing, and how good/bad things are but can be just saying these things. Ca(cid:374)(cid:859)t disti(cid:374)guish so(cid:373)eo(cid:374)e (cid:449)ho (cid:373)ight do or sa(cid:455) thi(cid:374)gs (cid:449)he(cid:374) (cid:272)o(cid:374)s(cid:272)ious or u(cid:374)(cid:272)o(cid:374)s(cid:272)ious: hypothetical nonconscious person called zombie. Zombie could talk about experiences + react but might not have any inner experience. You are the only thing in the universe you will know what it is to be like. Does(cid:374)(cid:859)t gi(cid:448)e the(cid:373) i(cid:374)sight o(cid:374) patie(cid:374)t o(cid:374) operati(cid:374)g ta(cid:271)le. Predicts whether patients will say they were conscious: no (cid:449)a(cid:455) to tell if a(cid:374)other perso(cid:374)(cid:859)s e(cid:454)perie(cid:374)(cid:272)e is of a(cid:374)(cid:455)thi(cid:374)g like (cid:455)ours.