Question
Shorten and simplify the following
Many experts today believe that consciousness
doesn’t really do much of anything. One
psychobiologist worked with people whose brains
had been surgically split in half (usually to control
epilepsy), and concluded that consciousness is just a
side effect of other processes and of thinking about
the future, and that it doesn’t serve any important
function.62,63
Some
psychologists
think
consciousness is simply a kind of emotional signal to
call attention to our own actions so we don’t confuse
them with what other people have done.64 Others
have observed that the automatic system does
more than we thought and the deliberate system
does less, and maybe the field will soon conclude that the conscious part of the mind doesn’t do
anything at all.65,66,67,68
With all due respect to these experts, we disagree.
We think that the deliberate system was difficult
and expensive (in terms of biological requirements)
for nature to give us, so most likely some very
profound advantages make consciousness worth
the trouble. Yes, the automatic system does most of
the work of the psyche, but the deliberate system
probably does something very important too. It is
most likely that these special jobs involve complex
kinds of thought that combine information and
follow explicit rules, as in logical reasoning.
Many experts today believe that consciousness
doesn’t really do much of anything. One
psychobiologist worked with people whose brains
had been surgically split in half (usually to control
epilepsy), and concluded that consciousness is just a
side effect of other processes and of thinking about
the future, and that it doesn’t serve any important
function.62,63
Some
psychologists
think
consciousness is simply a kind of emotional signal to
call attention to our own actions so we don’t confuse
them with what other people have done.64 Others
have observed that the automatic system does
more than we thought and the deliberate system
does less, and maybe the field will soon conclude that the conscious part of the mind doesn’t do
anything at all.65,66,67,68
With all due respect to these experts, we disagree.
We think that the deliberate system was difficult
and expensive (in terms of biological requirements)
for nature to give us, so most likely some very
profound advantages make consciousness worth
the trouble. Yes, the automatic system does most of
the work of the psyche, but the deliberate system
probably does something very important too. It is
most likely that these special jobs involve complex
kinds of thought that combine information and
follow explicit rules, as in logical reasoning.
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
Many experts today argue that consciousness serves little purpose. For instance, a psychobiologist studying patients with split brains found that consciousness is merely a side effect of other mental processes and thinking ahead. Some psychologists suggest it functions as an emotional cue to help us distinguish our actions from others'. They believe the automatic mind does much more than we realize, while the conscious mind does less. Consequently, the field may conclude that consciousness is insignificant.
However, we disagree. The deliberate mind likely has crucial benefits, as its development represents a significant evolutionary investment. While the automatic system handles most tasks, the deliberate system plays an important role, likely in complex reasoning and following rules.
However, we disagree. The deliberate mind likely has crucial benefits, as its development represents a significant evolutionary investment. While the automatic system handles most tasks, the deliberate system plays an important role, likely in complex reasoning and following rules.
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