Fuentes 1
Roberto Fuentes
Antonio Pablo Valencia
ENC 2135
January 23, 2021
Project 1: Annotated Bibliography
Graziano, Michael S A, and Sabine Kastner. “Human consciousness and its relationship to social
neuroscience: A novel hypothesis.” Cognitive neuroscience vol. 2,2 (2011): 98-113.
doi:10.1080/17588928.2011.565121
The purpose of this article is to introduce and explain a theory of what consciousness is.
Graziano starts with five main points on the hypothesis. The first point is consciousness is
information computed by a system in our Brain. The second point is humans constantly compute
other human’s awareness. The third point is the same system that computes how aware another
person is, computes how aware oneself is. The fourth point, consciousness is best described as a
perceptual model. The fifth point is the perceptual model of our own consciousness has more
detail than that of other people because we have more data on ourselves.
This article will be very useful in the paper because it explains a theory on why and what
consciousness is. While also being very organized making it easier to find information and
evidence. The theory is that consciousness is a product of social perception. In addition to
explaining the theory, Graziano presents predictions if the theory is true and also challenges the
theory in areas where it wouldn’t make much sense if it was true.
This source is reliable. Graziano’s article has been peer-reviewed by colleagues as said in
his acknowledgment. Moreover, he used multiple sources that are also reliable. Graziano has
multiple articles on the human brain and consciousness.
Fuentes 2
Koch, Christof. “What Is Consciousness?” Scientific American, vol. 318, no. 6, June 2018, pp.
60–64. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0618-60.
This article is about finding the source of consciousness in the Brain. The author, Koch,
starts off with defining consciousness as everything an individual experiences. Koch then moves
on to describe situations where a part of the nervous system is removed and someone still has
their consciousness. Koch goes even further and explains devices and techniques used by
professionals to check if someone is conscious. The article ends by presenting challenges that
will slow down the search for where consciousness is and some solutions for those problems.
The research question I am answering is “What is Consciousness?” To answer that
question, one must know where it is too. This article helps deduce the location of consciousness
and eliminates areas where it can’t be. I will use this information to present a general location of
where consciousness is located.
The author of this article is the “chief scientist and president of the Allen Institute for
Brain Science in Seattle. He serves on Scientific American's board of advisers” Koch is reliable
and well informed in theories of consciousnesses, even creating one with Tonini called
Integrated information theory.
van Hateren, J H. “A theory of consciousness: computation, algorithm, and neurobiological
realization.” Biological cybernetics vol. 113,4 (2019): 357-372.
doi:10.1007/s00422-019-00803-y
The article starts off by defining different consciousness. Informing the audience that the
subjective sensation associated with experience is the definition that will be used. The author
Fuentes 3
also explains the purpose of the article, which is to explain why consciousness is felt. The article
aims to explain the origins of consciousness and not the present form of consciousness we have
now. The author uses diagrams and equations to further explain his theory.
This article will help me explain how consciousness came to be. The research question
“What is consciousness?” includes answering where did consciousness come from. Knowing
how it happened can also predict what will happen in the future. How will our Brains improve
consciousness? The article taught me using various figures and equations, the mechanisms of
primordial consciousness.
The author Van is reliable because he is a professor and researcher at the University of
Groningen in the Netherlands. His article has also been cited in other scholarly work. The article
will be used to provide data and explanation on why consciousness exists and how it came to be.
Edelman, Gerald M et al. “Biology of consciousness.” Frontiers in psychology vol. 2 4. 25 Jan.
2011, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00004
The article starts off by explaining two hypotheses, The Dynamic Core and Global
Workspace, and a theory within each one. The purpose of the article is to show the close
relationship the two hypotheses have using a theory of each one. The comparisons are supported
with examples and scenarios. Measurements of brain activity during certain stimuli are also
presented in the article when describing how the Global Workspace contributes to the Dynamic
Core.
I will use the information learned in the article to present how consciousness is generated
in the Human Brain. Although the article focuses on combining two different theories rather than
explaining what consciousness is. The author also introduces new questions based on findings
Fuentes 4
from the article. This source won’t be that useful but it has some information I will be able to
use. The example with the giraffe and a drinking hole will help me explain how consciousness
could have been used, therefore explaining a reason for its existence.
The source is reliable. It was supported and reviewed by Neurosciences Research
Foundation. The article was also cited by other reliable sources. This source differs from the
other ones because it focuses on comparing two theories on consciousness rather than defining
consciousness itself.
Currin, Grant. “What Is Consciousness?” LiveScience, Purch, 26 July 2020,
www.livescience.com/what-is-consciousness.html.
The article is about comparing the Human’s consciousness with an animal’s
consciousness. It starts off with the history of humans attempting to understand what
consciousness is. Then it moves on to the comparison with animals. It ends with the explanation
that consciousness was created by our brains to avoid danger.
This article was short and simple. It has a possible answer to the reason behind
consciousness but doesn’t provide much information to reinforce it. The professor the author of
the article interviewed was not interested in consciousness. Instead the professor was more
interested in the Brain.
The article could be used as a source. Although it hasn’t been peer-reviewed and it
contains very little evidence. I will probably use very little from this source. Most likely I will
have use this source to find out more about the interviewee.
Fuentes 5
Philip Goff Assistant Professor of Philosophy. “Science as We Know It Can't Explain
Consciousness – but a Revolution Is Coming.” The Conversation, 7 May 2020,
theconversation.com/science-as-we-know-it-cant-explain-consciousness-but-a-revolution
-is-coming-126143.
The article claims that traditional methods of science can not explain what consciousness
is. It goes on and on about the issues with current methods on discovering what consciousness is.
Then it introduces a way of thinking called panpsychism and claiming leading nueroscientists are
embracing it to create a science of consciousness.
This source compared to the other five is empty and has no data to its claims. It critiques
other ways of thinking about consciousness and introduces panpsychism. The article also claims
that when modern science was born, it was made to explicitly excluded consciousness. I could
use this source to address incorrect answers to what consciousness is.
The article isn’t very reliable. The author is a assistant professor of philosophy at Durham
University. The author doesn’t bring up any information evidence to support his way of thinking
about consciousness. Although he does mention that consciousness can vary between organism
which is an interesting idea.
