B. Forti, E. Aguglia - Vol. 6, Settembre 2000, num.3
Testo Bibliografia
Summary Riassunto Indice
Coscienza e psicopatologia
Consciousness and psychopathology
While progress in neurobiology and cognitive science contributed to explain
a number of mental functioning aspects at a neurocomputational level, consciousness
remains a major challenge to the understanding of mind. The main functions attributed
to consciousness are control of activity, dominant focus, metacognition, integration
and unity of mental processes. However, there is an explanatory gap between
scientific knowledge and properties of consciousness as subjectivity, content,
intentionality and phenomenal qualities of experience, or qualia. Moreover,
phenomenal experience as a correlate of cerebral mechanisms implies epiphenomenalism,
and this is contraddictory with the causal and functional role of consciousness
according to the developmental theory. The possibility of a contribution of
psychopathology to the understanding of the misteries of consciousness is discussed.
