Journal of Consciousness Studies
Encyclopedia
The Journal of Consciousness Studies is an interdisciplinary
peer-reviewed
academic journal
dedicated entirely to the field of consciousness
studies. It was previously edited by Joseph Goguen
. It has been co-edited by the philosopher of mysticism
, Robert K.C. Forman
.
In contrast to other journals, it attempts to incorporate fields beyond the realm of the natural science
s and the social sciences such as the humanities
, philosophy
, critical theory
, comparative religion
, and mysticism
.
in Tucson. Papers from the first Online Consciousness Conference
were published in a special issue in April 2010.
Interdisciplinarity
Interdisciplinarity involves the combining of two or more academic fields into one single discipline. An interdisciplinary field crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions have emerged....
peer-reviewed
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
dedicated entirely to the field of consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
studies. It was previously edited by Joseph Goguen
Joseph Goguen
Joseph Amadee Goguen was a computer science professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, USA, who helped develop the OBJ family of programming languages. He was author of A Categorical Manifesto and founder and Editor-in-Chief of the...
. It has been co-edited by the philosopher of mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, Robert K.C. Forman
Robert K.C. Forman
Robert K.C. Forman has worked as professor of religion at Hunter's College, C.U.N.Y., and is Founding Executive Director of The Forge Institute for Spirituality and Social Change. His books include The Problems of Pure Consciousness and The Innate Capacity...
.
Background
The journal was established in part to provide visibility across disciplines to various researchers approaching the problem of consciousness from their respective fields. The articles are usually in non-specialized language (in contrast to a typical academic journal) in order to make them accessible to those in other disciplines. This also serves to help make them accessible to laypersons.In contrast to other journals, it attempts to incorporate fields beyond the realm of the natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
s and the social sciences such as the humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, critical theory
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
, comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
, and mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
.
Conferences
The journal is affiliated with the Towards a Science of Consciousness conference, and the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson. Papers from the first Online Consciousness Conference
Online Consciousness Conference
The Online Consciousness Conference held at Consciousness Online was founded in 2008 by Richard Brown, then a graduate student at the CUNY Graduate Center...
were published in a special issue in April 2010.
Representative articles
The following are examples of articles published in the journal:- "The Astonishing Hypothesis" (1994) - Francis CrickFrancis CrickFrancis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
& J. Clark - "Facing Up to the Problem of Consciousness" (1995) - David ChalmersDavid ChalmersDavid John Chalmers is an Australian philosopher specializing in the area of philosophy of mind and philosophy of language, whose recent work concerns verbal disputes. He is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Consciousness at the Australian National University...
- "Facing Backwards on the Problem of Consciousness" (1996) - Daniel DennettDaniel DennettDaniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
- "In the Theatre of Consciousness" (1997) - Bernard BaarsBernard BaarsBernard J. Baars is a former Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA., and is currently an Affiliated Fellow there. He is best known as the originator of the global workspace theory, a theory of human cognitive architecture and consciousness...
- "The 'Shared Manifold' Hypothesis: From Mirror Neurons to Empathy" (2001) - Vittorio Gallese
Single theme issues
From time to time, the journal publishes collections of thematically or topically related academic papers. These often take the form of a double issue.Notable contributors
- Igor AleksanderIgor AleksanderIgor Aleksander FREng is an emeritus professor of Neural Systems Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Imperial College London...
- James H. AustinJames H. AustinJames H. Austin is Clinical Professor of Neurology, University of Missouri Health Science Center, and Emeritus Professor of Neurology, University of Colorado Health Science Center. Austin is the author of his well known book Zen and the Brain, which aims to establish links between the neurological...
- Susan BlackmoreSusan BlackmoreSusan Jane Blackmore is an English freelance writer, lecturer, and broadcaster on psychology and the paranormal, perhaps best known for her book The Meme Machine.-Career:...
- Patricia ChurchlandPatricia ChurchlandPatricia Smith Churchland is a Canadian-American philosopher noted for her contributions to neurophilosophy and the philosophy of mind. She has been a Professor at the University of California, San Diego since 1984...
- Owen FlanaganOwen FlanaganOwen Flanagan, Ph.D. is the James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Neurobiology at Duke University. Flanagan has done work in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of social science, ethics, contemporary ethical theory, moral psychology, as well as Buddhist and...
- Walter Freeman
- Nicholas HumphreyNicholas HumphreyProfessor Nicholas Keynes Humphrey is an English psychologist, based in Cambridge, who is known for his work on the evolution of human intelligence and consciousness. His interests are wide ranging...
- Ivan IllichIvan IllichIvan Illich was an Austrian philosopher, Roman Catholic priest, and "maverick social critic" of the institutions of contemporary western culture and their effects on the provenance and practice of education, medicine, work, energy use, transportation, and economic development.- Personal life...
- Stanley KrippnerStanley KrippnerStanley Krippner is an American psychologist, and an executive faculty member and Professor of Psychology at Saybrook University in San Francisco...
- George LakoffGeorge LakoffGeorge P. Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972...
- Jaron LanierJaron LanierJaron Zepel Lanier is an American computer scientist, best known for popularizing the term virtual reality .A pioneer in the field of VR, Lanier and Thomas G. Zimmerman left Atari in 1985 to found VPL Research, Inc., the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves...
- Benjamin LibetBenjamin LibetBenjamin Libet April 12, 1916, Chicago, Illinois - July 23, 2007, Davis, California) was a pioneering scientist in the field of human consciousness. Libet was a researcher in the physiology department of the University of California, San Francisco...
- Jonathan Lowe
- John McCarthyJohn McCarthy (computer scientist)John McCarthy was an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist. He coined the term "artificial intelligence" , invented the Lisp programming language and was highly influential in the early development of AI.McCarthy also influenced other areas of computing such as time sharing systems...
- Colin McGinnColin McGinnColin McGinn is a British philosopher currently working at the University of Miami. McGinn has also held major teaching positions at Oxford University and Rutgers University. He is best known for his work in the philosophy of mind, though he has written on topics across the breadth of modern...
- Thomas MetzingerThomas MetzingerThomas Metzinger is a German philosopher. he holds the position of director of the theoretical philosophy group at the department of philosophy at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and is an Adjunct Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies and on the advisory board of the...
- Rafael E. NúñezRafael E. NúñezRafael E. Núñez is a professor of cognitive science at the University of California, San Diego and a proponent of embodied cognition. He co-authored Where Mathematics Comes From with George Lakoff.-External links:*...
- Roger PenroseRoger PenroseSir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College...
- Vilayanur S. RamachandranVilayanur S. RamachandranVilayanur Subramanian "Rama" Ramachandran, born 1951, is a neuroscientist known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics...
- Oliver SacksOliver SacksOliver Wolf Sacks, CBE , is a British neurologist and psychologist residing in New York City. He is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at Columbia University, where he also holds the position of Columbia Artist...
- John SearleJohn SearleJohn Rogers Searle is an American philosopher and currently the Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
- David SkrbinaDavid SkrbinaDavid Skrbina is a pioneer of ecophilosophy. He stood for the office of Lieutenant Governor for the U.S. state of Michigan as the Green Party candidate in 2006, as the running mate of Douglas Campbell....
- Luc SteelsLuc SteelsLuc Steels is a Belgian scientist, and Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is also heading the Sony Computer Science Laboratory in Paris. Steels, along with Rodney Brooks , was one of the initiators of the behaviour-based robotics approach to...
- Galen StrawsonGalen StrawsonGalen John Strawson is a British philosopher and literary critic who works primarily on philosophy of mind, metaphysics , John Locke, David Hume and Kant. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford , from where he won a scholarship to Winchester College...
- Ed SubitzkyEd SubitzkyEd Subitzky, full name Edward Jack Subitzky is an American writer and artist, who is best known as a cartoonist, comics artist, and humorist/humor writer. He has also worked as a television comedy writer and performer, a writer and performer of radio comedy, and a writer of radio drama, as well as...
- Charles TartCharles TartDr. Charles T. Tart is an American psychologist and parapsychologist known for his psychological work on the nature of consciousness , as one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology, and for his research in scientific parapsychology. He earned his Ph. D...
- Francisco VarelaFrancisco VarelaFrancisco Javier Varela García , was a Chilean biologist, philosopher and neuroscientist who, together with his teacher Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of autopoiesis to biology.-Biography:...
- Ken WilberKen WilberKenneth Earl Wilber II is an American author who has written about mysticism, philosophy, ecology, and developmental psychology. His work formulates what he calls Integral Theory. In 1998, he founded the Integral Institute, for teaching and applications of Integral theory.-Biography:Ken Wilber was...