What about the unconscious? (Part VI, Analytic Idealism Course w/ Bernardo Kastrup) | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Analytic idealism argues that the concept of the unconscious does not contradict the idea that only phenomenal consciousness exists, as the unconscious refers to the lack of metacognitive awareness rather than the lack of phenomenal consciousness.

Key Insights

• 🖤 The unconscious, in the context of analytic idealism, refers to the lack of metacognitive awareness rather than the absence of phenomenal consciousness.
• 🤘 Phenomenal consciousness entails the experience itself, while meta consciousness involves explicit awareness of that experience.
• 😪 Non-conscious states, such as dreamless sleep or general anesthesia, can still involve phenomenal consciousness but lack metacognitive awareness.
• 🤘 The distinction between consciousness and meta consciousness is crucial in understanding the concept of the unconscious.
• 🤯 Dissociation allows for the coexistence of seemingly multiple minds within one unified mind.
• ❓ Empirical evidence from the neuroscience of consciousness supports the notion that physicality is the result of measurement and does not have standalone existence.

Transcript

welcome back to essentia foundation's course on analytic idealism um last time in part five we've reviewed the empirical evidence coming from laboratories around the world that seems to support analytic idealism and outright contradict mainstream physicalism we've seen that in the field of neuroscience of consciousness there is a very broad pattern... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: Does the existence of the unconscious contradict analytic idealism?

No, according to analytic idealism, the unconscious refers to the lack of metacognitive awareness rather than the lack of phenomenal consciousness. Therefore, the idea of the unconscious does not contradict analytic idealism.

Q: Can we have experiences without metacognitive awareness?

Yes, we can have experiences without being metacognitively aware of them. Examples include non-immersive experiences during sleep or subliminal perception during general anesthesia.

Q: How can we explain the seeming multiple minds within one unified mind?

Analytic idealism proposes the process of dissociation to explain the existence of multiple minds within one unified mind. Dissociation allows for the coexistence of different mentalities within the framework of a universal subjectivity.

Q: What is the relationship between consciousness and meta consciousness?

Consciousness is the broad spectrum of phenomenal experience, while meta consciousness refers to the explicit awareness of a conscious event. Most of our experiences are phenomenally conscious, but not meta conscious.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Analytic idealism challenges the existence of the unconscious, asserting that it refers to the absence of metacognitive awareness rather than the absence of phenomenal consciousness.

• Meta consciousness involves explicit awareness of a conscious state, while phenomenal consciousness refers to the experience itself.

• Non-conscious states, such as dreamless sleep or general anesthesia, can still involve phenomenal consciousness, but lack metacognitive awareness.