PS101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Circadian Rhythm, Mirror Test, Pineal Gland
Document Summary
Seems like an easy question to answer. This question has been around for a long time. Consciousness moment to moment awareness of ourselves and environment. Subjective and private: only our knowledge, our own perception of reality, others cannot directly know our reality (and vice versa) For example, one person may find a sunset beautiful while another may think it is mundane. You might think a sunset is beautiful one day, but on another day, a similar sunset may not feel the same anymore. Can change based on mood, energy, events, etc. Self-reflective: mind is aware of its own consciousness. We learn a lot about consciousness by studying absence of consciousness. We perform many mental functions without being aware of it. In medical terms not awake, not alert, not responding. In psychology, this refers to someone that holds their experiences under the ability to be brought to consciousness: most of what drives us is unconscious.
