Consciousness Studies Shape of the Discipline

the early 1990s, most scientists considered consciousness taboo, but now many consider it the most important unsolved problem in science. Consciousness is also a key issue in the ongoing dialogue between science and religion. The dominant view of consciousness in the hard sciences is of course materialist and reductionist. This has had important successes, but it also has important unresolved problems. For example, the biologist Francis Crick wrote, \You're nothing but a pack of neurons" Crick, 1994] in parody of Lewis Carroll. But most people, including those in consciousness studies, and even most in neuroscience, feel there is much more to human life than can be seen at the level of neurons. Notions of consciousness are important in many religions. The term \God consciousness" is important in the protestant theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher Schleiermacher, 1989] and his followers, and \Christ consciousness" is used in some Christian and New Age religions, sometimes in a doubtful way. \Cosmic consciousness" is important in Hinduism, especially Vedanta, and \pure consciousness" is important in the Buddhist school called Dzogchen in Tibetan, and Maha Ati or Mahasandhi in Sanskrit; consciousness is a common theme in the Tantric traditions. Reports of meditation experience are taken more seriously in consciousness studies than in the hard sciences, which often dismiss such data as \mere subjective experience." On the other hand, due to close connections with various religions, some writers on consciousness have hidden (or not so hidden) agendas, so that caution is called for. In general, we may say that the hard sciences attempt to reduce consciousness to the material, while religions are more concerned with mental (or spiritual) aspects. This reeects the heritage of mind-body separation associated with the philosopher Ren e Descartes. Although there is no single dominant view of consciousness, nor even any generally accepted deenition, there has been substantial progress. The eld has a professional society, the Association for the Scientiic Study of Consciousness (abbreviated ASSC), one highly interdisciplinary journal, the Journal of Consciousness Studies (abbreviated JCS), and three journals devoted mainly to scientiic and philosophical studies, Consciousness and Cognition, Consciousness and Emotion, and Psyche, the latter being an electronic journal; JCS also has a popular online discussion group. Many other journals publish papers on consciousness, such as Behavioral and Brain Sciences and Mind. There is an important biannual conference series held in Tucson, Arizona since 1994, organized by the University of Arizona, which also …