Stream of Consciousness Essay

The Significant Impact of Blindsight Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi once said, “Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.” The idea that we are in control of our own consciousness, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, is a fascinating one; and it is even more fascinating when you take into consideration phenomenon like blindsight. Blindsight, according to Dictionary.com, is “the ability to respond to visual stimuli without having any conscious visual experience; it can occur…

protagonist Eveline and her dilemma of whether she should stay in her somewhat dull current situation as an obedient daughter, or follow her lover across the ocean for a life that promises freedom, yet uncertainty. The story is told in the stream-of-consciousness…

The Brain’s Limitless Capacity One of humankind's biggest mysteries is from within: the mind. How did humans gain consciousness? How can humans perceive time? The mind is capable of greater endeavors than the menial tasks it performs every day. During the waking hours, the mind is constrained by the laws of reality. By night, our minds are free. In “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce, Peyton Peyton irrationally struggles for hope, moments before his execution. Peyton’s body is…

Since the inception of psychology in the United States by American philosopher William James, in the early 1900’s learning and psychology has been joined hand in hand together ever since. Well into the beginning of the twentieth century, learning and education has been monitored closely and connected to psychologists. According to (Domjan, 2014) Learning is one of our most primitive and basic biological mental processes that facilitates our need for survival and promotes personal well-being.…

were deeply consumed by the societal and artistic pressures of the Romantic period. Poets during this time were faced with the intense pressure of meeting the Romantic ideal of the “creative genius” as they were plagued with a self-paralysing consciousness. These pressures halted their conscious creative ability and influenced their artistic vision, consequently jeopardising the quality of their work. When looking at the Poet and their art form, it is interesting to explore the intermediate…

In his essay “What Faith Is”, philosophical theologian Paul Tillich discusses humans and their “ultimate concerns”. These concerns demand a person’s whole being and life, requiring total surrender in order to achieve total fulfillment. They are acts of personality, centered by the human mind, both conscious and unconscious. A true ultimate concern involves the self, whereas a false concern involves an object. Considering Tillich’s definition, I find that there are several values and lessons that…

The Web provides a convenient and compelling supplement to personal memory, but when we start using the web as a substitute for personal memory, bypassing the inner processes of consolidation, we risk emptying our minds of their riches.” Throughout history technology has changed the way people see the world. As the internet is becoming more and more demanding and our primary source for information, it is also affecting our ability to read any sort of medium. In Carr’s article “Is Google making…

Humans are creatures of habit. They pick the same route, go to the same places, and perform daily tasks in an almost ritualistic manner. As a result, they see and hear the same things every day, which is considered the environment. The environment is the external surroundings that a person is placed in. When the brain is exposed to the same environment constantly, the conscious mind starts to acknowledge the presence less and less. Eventually, the unconscious mind takes over, resulting in “the…

Sensation is a large part of self-identification. It is what allows for experience and perception. Without the ability to sense, one would feel disembodied, and estranged from their own person. There are five commonly referred to sensory modalities, which include; vision, audition, haptics, gustation and olfaction. However there is another sense, a “secret sense” which is so automatic it often goes unnoticed. Thus many don’t realize the importance of such a sense in understanding one’s reality…

Nagel gives us the idea that there is a consciousness in most living things, and that this is not reducible to physical characteristics. In “What is it like it be a bat?”, Nagel identifies that each organism has ‘something that it is like to be that organism’, otherwise known as the ‘subjective character’…