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The place of consciousness in the information processing approach: The mental-pool thought experiment

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Commentary on MaxVelmans (1991) Is human information processing conscious? BBS 14:651–726.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2011

Sam S. Rakover
Sam S. Rakover
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Haifa University, Haifa, 31905, Israel. rsps742@uvm. halfa.ac.il
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Abstract

Velmans (1991a; 1991b) proposed that consciousness plays a minor explanatory role in the information processing approach and that unconscious mechanisms process stimuli and responses and intervene between them. In contrast, the present commentary describes a thought experiment suggesting that, although input information is initially processed unconsciously, subsequent processing involves consciousness, and consciousness plays an important role in the explanation of behavior.

Information

Type
Continuing Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 19 , Special Issue 3 , September 1996, pp. 537 - 538
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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