Consciousness has a long history as a topic of philosophical investigation. But its status as an object of scientific inquiry is a comparatively recent development. To date, some questions still remain on whether consciousness is to be considered as a proper object of scientific inquiry. Indeed, it is not clear whether consciousness is an object at all.
Whether we call it mind, subjectivity, or experience, consciousness seems to elude traditional approaches to scientific research since it is not directly accessible to third-person observational methods or objective systems of measurement.
In light of its contentious status, consciousness has no single disciplinary home. If there is one point on which consciousness researchers may agree, it is that no single discipline can reach a complete understanding or explanation of consciousness.
Consciousness research has therefore been developed along various interdisciplinary avenues, including collaborative approaches, at the intersection of philosophy and the sciences.
This Research Topic provides a venue for addressing interdisciplinary challenges inherent in the field of consciousness research, with a particular focus on the challenges of integrating philosophical and scientific approaches. We welcome especially submissions that propose or develop techniques for integrating philosophy with specific empirical sciences, including psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, or cognitive sciences.
Topics and questions might include the following:
• How can we bring philosophical and scientific methods into the conversation, and how can this help attain a more comprehensive understanding of consciousness?
• By what criteria should we judge the success of interdisciplinary methods in consciousness research?
• How can we integrate first-person and third-person approaches to consciousness research?
• How can philosophy contribute to the design and implementation of scientific experiments in psychology and related fields?
• How can conceptual clarification facilitate empirical studies of consciousness?
• How can philosophical approaches help us analyze and interpret empirical data?
• How should empirical evidence constrain or inform philosophical theories of consciousness?
Consciousness has a long history as a topic of philosophical investigation. But its status as an object of scientific inquiry is a comparatively recent development. To date, some questions still remain on whether consciousness is to be considered as a proper object of scientific inquiry. Indeed, it is not clear whether consciousness is an object at all.
Whether we call it mind, subjectivity, or experience, consciousness seems to elude traditional approaches to scientific research since it is not directly accessible to third-person observational methods or objective systems of measurement.
In light of its contentious status, consciousness has no single disciplinary home. If there is one point on which consciousness researchers may agree, it is that no single discipline can reach a complete understanding or explanation of consciousness.
Consciousness research has therefore been developed along various interdisciplinary avenues, including collaborative approaches, at the intersection of philosophy and the sciences.
This Research Topic provides a venue for addressing interdisciplinary challenges inherent in the field of consciousness research, with a particular focus on the challenges of integrating philosophical and scientific approaches. We welcome especially submissions that propose or develop techniques for integrating philosophy with specific empirical sciences, including psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, or cognitive sciences.
Topics and questions might include the following:
• How can we bring philosophical and scientific methods into the conversation, and how can this help attain a more comprehensive understanding of consciousness?
• By what criteria should we judge the success of interdisciplinary methods in consciousness research?
• How can we integrate first-person and third-person approaches to consciousness research?
• How can philosophy contribute to the design and implementation of scientific experiments in psychology and related fields?
• How can conceptual clarification facilitate empirical studies of consciousness?
• How can philosophical approaches help us analyze and interpret empirical data?
• How should empirical evidence constrain or inform philosophical theories of consciousness?
