The following map is an attempt to explore the complexity of consciousness, its connections and relations, but also its limitations. What do we know about it? I intentionally omit the most mainstream research or philosophies about it, as i found them mostly irrelevant, outdated or too farfetched to consider. (Chalmers’ overly published “the Hard Problem of Consciousness” is one of those, but also opinions that support Panpsychism as a valid option are to me not credible.) In that sense i accept a more plausible take on the matter, as it is presented by Verschure, who suggests that consciousness should be observed through the lens of evolution and the development of the brain. It is clear that within this framework we can explain the origins, functions and reasons for consciousness to emerge. However a lot of information is still contradictory and i include some of those as well. What about intuition, instincts or premonitions? I intentionally include mental and personality disorders as they are undeniable affecting consciousness in often detrimental ways. Discernible is that in some cases the one who is affected by it is not aware of her/his own condition. As a consequence it can be assumed that mental or personality disorders influences the way how someone is conscious about their own state of being, and thus directly affects someones consciousness. Unlike with mind-altering drugs, which expands consciousness, it seems that mental and personality disorders are diminishing consciousness.
The work is part of my PhD study at the City University of Hong Kong at the School of Creative Media, and previous animated film titled, NerveLoop, Hong Kong Urban Machine Jazz, (2021) has been produced which is exploring the correlation between the brain and cities.
This map is a first serious attempt to structure my research topic into a diagrammatic info-graphic. It is a work in progress and hopefully i will be able to update this map occasionally, so it will evolve into something more comprehensive and will be able to covey the complexity of consciousness. If you have any comments or ideas and wish to respond, feel free to leave a comment, and i will include them in a forum like discussion at some point.
The diagram has been exhibited in a group show about academic PHD research 那藝織思 Nexus between Art, Practice & Research, in Floating Projects, JCCAC, Kowloon, Hong Kong.