In response to Alex Green's post of 21 Oct 2006, stating that "Consciousness OF" implies a regress and the truly interesting problem in consciousness research is how this regress is avoided (as Aristotle knew thousands of years ago).

In relation to experiencing, if each successive metacognitive regress* requires an increase in cognitive complexity then the number of regresses might find their limit in the complexity-achieving limits of cognitive processing.

*consider the following fourfold regress:

experiencing non-consciously = performing the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about some external, say, object or event of reality

experiencing consciously = performing the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about the internal event of reality comprising the performing of the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about an external, say, object or event of reality

experiencing self-consciously = performing the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about the internal event of reality comprising the performing of the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about the internal event of reality comprising the performing of the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about an external, say, object or event of reality

experiencing evaluatively self-consciously = performing the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about the internal event of reality of performing the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about the internal event of reality comprising the performing of the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about the internal event of reality comprising the performing of the physiological activity of receiving and responding adjustively to information about an external, say, object or event of reality

Perhaps cognitive processing can achieve further complexity, enabling 'higher' metacognitive states, but one begin to appreciate that ahead lies a non-linear road.

Anthony Sebastian.

-------------------------
Anthony Sebastian, MD
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