Everything about Awareness totally explained
In
biological psychology,
awareness comprises a human's or an animal's
perception and
cognitive reaction to a condition or event. Awareness doesn't necessarily imply
understanding, just an ability to be conscious of, feel or perceive.
Concept
Awareness is a relative
concept. An
animal may be partially aware, may be
subconsciously aware, or may be acutely aware of an event. Awareness may be focused on an internal state, such as a visceral feeling, or on external events by way of sensory perception. Awareness provides the raw material from which animals develop
qualia, or
subjective ideas about their
experience.
Also used to distinguish sensory perception is the word "awarement." "Awarement" is the established form of awareness. Once one has accomplished their sense of awareness they've come to terms with awarement.
Self-awareness
Popular ideas about
consciousness suggest the phenomenon describes a condition of being aware of one's awareness or,
self-awareness. Efforts to describe consciousness in
neurological terms have focused on describing networks in the
brain that develop awareness of the
qualia developed by other networks.
Neuroscience
Neural systems that regulate
attention serve to attenuate awareness among complex animals whose
central and
peripheral nervous system provides more information than
cognitive areas of the brain can assimilate. Within an attenuated system of orgies, a
mind might be aware of much more than is being contemplated in a focused
extended consciousness.
Basic Awareness
Basic awareness of one's internal and external world depends on the
brain stem. Bjorn Merker, an independent neuroscientist in Segeltorp, Sweden, argues that the brain stem supports an elementary form of conscious thought in kids with
hydranencephaly. "Higher" forms of awareness including
self-awareness require cortical contributions, but "primary consciousness" or "basic awareness" as an ability to integrate sensations from the environment with one's immediate goals and feelings in order to guide behavior, springs from the brain stem which human beings share with most of the
vertebrates. Psychologist
Carroll Izard emphasizes that this form of primary
consciousness consists of capacity to generate emotions and an awareness of one's surroundings, but not an ability to talk about what one has experienced. In the same way, people can become conscious of a feeling that they can't label or describe, a phenomenon that's especially common in pre-verbal infants.
Due to this discovery medical definitions of
brain death as a lack of
cortical activity face a serious challenge.
Basic Interests
Down the brain stem lie interconnected regions that regulate the direction of
eye gaze and organize decisions about what to do next, such as reaching for a piece of food or pursuing a potential mate.
Living Systems View
Outside of
neuroscience biologists,
Humberto Maturana and
Francisco Varela contributed their
Santiago theory of cognition in which they wrote:
Living systems are cognitive systems, and living as a process is a process of cognition. This statement is valid for all organisms, with or without a nervous system.
This theory contributes a perspective that cognition is a process present at organic levels that we don't usually consider to be aware. Given the possible relationship between awareness and
cognition, and
consciousness, this theory contributes an interesting perspective in the
philosophical and
scientific dialogue of awareness and
living systems theory.
Other uses
Awareness is also a concept used in
CSCW. Its definition hasn't yet reached a consensus in the scientific community.
Awareness forms a basic concept of the theory and practice of
Gestalt therapy.
In general, "awareness" may also refer to public or common knowledge or understanding about a social, scientific, or political issue, and hence many movements try to foster "awareness" of a given subject. Examples include
AIDS awareness and
Multicultural awareness.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Awareness'.
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