Final Report Summary - ARCHOFCON (The Architecture of Consciousness) This project has developed a model of the architecture of consciousness by first providing accounts of 4 of the core features of consciousness, and then identifying ways in which these accounts might constrain theories of consciousness. The four core features that have been addressed include the unity of consciousness; its selectivity (that is, the kinds of properties that can be represented in consciousness); its subjectivity; and its dimensional structure. With respect to the unity of consciousness, we developed a model of multisensory interaction, and argued that this model is at odds with theories of consciousness that equate the building blocks of consciousness with modality-specific representations. With respect to the selectivity of consciousness, we argued that research in psychology on gist perception and ensemble coding supports the view that ‘high-level’ properties (such as being an urban scene) can be represented in perceptual experience. With respect to the subjectivity of consciousness, we have developed an affordance-based model of the way in which the self is given in all conscious experience. With respect to the dimensional structure of consciousness, we have argued that the dominant conception of global states of consciousness as one-dimensional levels of consciousness is seriously misguided, and should be replaced by a multi-dimensional account, according to which distinct global states of consciousness can differ from each other along various dimensions, such as the degree to which the subject’s conscious states are available to guide intentional behaviour.
