The Caldron Of Consciousness: Motivation, Affect And Self-organization _ An Anthology (advances In Consciousness Research)

This text features studies by prominent neuroscientists, psychologists and philosophers working towards a coherent framework for understanding emotion and its contribution to the functioning of consciousness in general, as an aspect of self-organizing, embodied subjects. Distinguishing consciousness from unconscious information processing hinges on the role of motivating emotions in all conscious modalities, and how emotional brain processes interact with those traditionally associated with cognitive function. These new studies by prominent neuroscientists, psychologists and philosophers work toward a coherent framework for understanding emotion and its contribution to the functioning of consciousness in general, as an aspect of self-organizing, embodied subjects. Distinguishing consciousness from unconscious information processing hinges on the role of motivating emotions in all conscious modalities, and how emotional brain processes interact with those traditionally associated with cognitive function. Computationally registering/processing sensory signals (e.g. in the occipital lobe or area V4) by itself does not result in perceptual consciousness , which requires subcortical structures such as amygdala, hypothalamus, and brain stem. This interdisciplinary anthology attempts to understand the complexity of emotional intentionality; why the role of motivation in self-organizing processes is crucial in distinguishing conscious from unconscious processes; how emotions account for agency; and how an adequate approach to emotion-motivation can address the traditional mind-body problem through a holistic understanding of the conscious, behaving organism. (Series B) From a neuropsychological perspective, awareness of emotions is a complex function involving several components (perceptual decoding and conceptualization, memory and attention, and psychophysiological responses). Pathological conditions of the nervous system as well as certain experimental procedures in healthy persons may induce dissociations of these components. It is suggested that perceptual awareness of an emotional stimulus requires a correct stimulus identification as well as input monitoring. Awareness of experiential qualities is a more global function involving integration of interoceptive information, formation of emotional schemas or concepts, and recall of episodic memory of past emotions. Perceptual awareness of internal or external stimulus events can be defined and measured by means of psychophysical methods. Experiental qualities, however, are difficult to assess in a reductionist/physicalist framework 1. Integrating The Physiological And Phenomenological Dimensions Of Affect And Motivation / Ralph D. Ellis -- 2. Affective Consciousness And The Instinctual Motor System: The Neural Sources Of Sadness And Joy / Jaak Panksepp -- 3. Consciousness, Motivation, And Emotion: Biopsychological Reflections / Bill Faw -- 4. Conscious Emotion In A Dynamic System: How I Can Know How I Feel / Natika Newton -- 5. The 'mind'/'body' Problem And First-person Process / Eugene T. Gendlin -- 6. Dissolving Differences: How To Understand The Competing Approaches To Human Emotion / Valerie Gray Hardcastle. Edited By Ralph D. Ellis, Natika Newton. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.