- Cartesian theater
The Cartesian theater is a derisive term coined by philosopher
Daniel Dennett to pointedly refer to the defining aspect ofCartesian materialism , which he considers to be the often unacknowledged remnants ofCartesian dualism in modern materialistic theories of themind .Descartes originally claimed that
consciousness involves an immaterial soul, which observes a representation of the world in thepineal gland of the brain. Under this notion, the soul plays the role of ahomunculus , a creature with self-directed will power.Dennett says that, when the dualism is removed, what remains of Descartes' original model amounts to imagining a tiny theater in the brain where the homunculus, now physical, performs the task of observing all the sensory data projected on a screen at a particular instant, making the decisions and sending out commands. (cf the
Homunculus argument ).The term Cartesian Theater was brought up in the context of the
Multiple Drafts Model that Dennett posits in "Consciousness Explained " (1991).References
* Dennett, D. and Kinsbourne, M. (1992) " [http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/time&obs.htm Time and the Observer: the Where and When of Consciousness in the Brain] ". (1992) "Behavioral and Brain Sciences", 15, 183-247, 1992. Reprinted in "The Philosopher's Annual", Grim, Mar and Williams, eds., vol. XV-1992, 1994, pp. 23-68; Noel Sheehy and Tony Chapman, eds., "Cognitive Science", Vol. I, Elgar, 1995, pp.210-274.
External links
* [http://home.comcast.net/~johnrgregg/self.htm John Gregg on the "Cartesian Theater"]
* [http://pixnaps.blogspot.com/2004/11/cartesian-theatre.html Richard Chappell on "The Cartesian Theater"]
* [http://sculptgod.jdsawyer.net/podpress_trac/web/8/0/sg_ep4_control_room.mp3 Control Room - Science Fiction short story about the Cartesian Theater, from the Sculpting God podcast]
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