Metanalysis of Definitions of Consciousness

Abstract

With a resurgence of interest in human consciousness, there is a need to know what it is that the term consciousness refers to. Twenty-nine definitions of consciousness by eleven authors are examined, twenty-six of which are organized into a set ordered by ontological necessity. In addition, these definitions are grouped as either phenomenological or behavioral and passive or active. It is suggested that five meanings of the term consciousness be distinguished: consciousness₁ is the characteristic of an organism in a running state which entails the registration, processing and acting upon information; behavioral consciousness₂ refers to the explicit knowledge of one's situation, mental states or actions, as demonstrated by one's behavior; subjective consciousness₂ refers to subjective awareness characterized by intentionality; consciousness₃ refers to the sense of existence of the subject of mental acts; and conscientia refers to participation in a shared plan.

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