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The Concept of “Dynamic” Consciousness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2018

R. M. Mowbray
R. M. Mowbray*
Affiliation:
At Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, S.W.I.
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Extract

The nature of consciousness is a central theoretical problem for psychology, psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine. Attempts to deal with this problem in these fields have led to precarious relationships with philosophy on the one hand and with neurophysiology on the other. The result is both conceptually and semantically unsatisfactory. For example, is “consciousness” to be taken to mean some general state or level of awareness which is capable of being altered or reduced? Or is there no general consciousness but only states of being conscious of specific things? This paper discusses some of the philosophical problems involved in the term “consciousness” and outlines ways in which recent neurophysiological advances have contributed to clinical knowledge about the general or specific nature of consciousness.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Journal of Mental Science , Volume 106 , Issue 445 , October 1960 , pp. 1361 - 1370
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1960 

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