Glossary

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I. Glossary of terms

Conscious awareness. Conscious awareness is mental awareness of a quale. (Chapter 3)

Conscious experience. A conscious experience is a mental experience of a quale. (Chapter 3)

Consciously aware of, consciously experience, and consciously experienceable. When the mind is aware of and experiences a mental phenomenon with the three important characteristics below, the mind is said to be consciously aware of and consciously experience the mental phenomenon, and the mental phenomenon is concisely said to be consciously experienceable.

#1. The mind has the awareness of the phenomenon’s existence, that is, its existence is registered into the information and the processing systems of the mind.

#2. The mind has the awareness and experiences of what the phenomenon is like – what the vision of the house is like, what the sound of the song is like, what the odor of the rose is like, what the thinking of something is like, what the feeling of happiness is like, etc.

#3. The mind can share the information of the phenomenon to its various parts that include the cognition part, the symbolizing part, and the storage part. Thus, it can think about, analyze, compare, and do other mental activities with the phenomenon intentionally; it can directly represent the phenomenon with symbols – written signs, sounds, gestures, etc.; and it can intentionally memorize and recall the phenomenon, at least with some details and for some time.

(Chapter 3)

Consciousness. Consciousness is the composite of all conscious awareness and conscious experiences. (Chapter 6)

Consciousness mental process. Consciousness mental process is the mental process that functions to be consciously aware of and consciously experience mental process functions. (Chapter 6)

External world. The external world is the world that includes everything except the mind and the place where it resides (the neural processes of the brain). (Chapter 1)

Information. Information is a non-material thing that consists of transferrable content. (Section D8, Introduction & Definitions)

Mental process. A mental process is a mind’s component that functions to do a certain specific activity of the three cardinal functions (i.e., to sense, operate, or send signals) to control its own body functions and/or to respond to its environment. (Section D3, Introduction & Definitions)

Mind. The mind is a non-material entity that exists in an animal with a nervous system and that functions to sense, operate, and send signals to control its own body functions and/or to respond to its environment with the ability to operate the signals to the highest levels that that animal can. (Section D1, Introduction & Definitions)

Neural circuit. A neural circuit is a group of neurons that are connected together in some specific pattern to process signals to do a certain activity. (Section D4, Introduction & Definitions)

Neural process. A neural process is the signal-processing process of a neural circuit. (Section D5, Introduction & Definitions)

Outside world. The outside world is the world that includes everything except the mind and the place where it resides (the neural processes of the brain). (Chapter 1)

Phenomenal characteristic. Phenomenal characteristic is a characteristic of qualia – the characteristic that qualia manifest what they are like in the mind. (Chapter 3)

Quale. A quale is a mental phenomenon that is consciously experienceable. (Chapter 3)

Reentrant Signaling state. A reentrant signaling state is a signaling state that has its signals sent back to itself. (Chapter 5)

Signaling pattern. A signaling pattern (SP) is the pattern of signaling that a neural circuit sends to another neural circuit to convey its information. (Section D6, Introduction & Definitions).

Signaling state. A signaling state (SS) is the pattern of signaling of a whole neural circuit, with signals circulating in its circuit in a certain pattern at any certain moment. (Section D7, Introduction & Definitions)

Special reentrant signaling state. A special reentrant signaling state is a reentrant signaling state that is conscious awareness and a conscious experience. (Chapter 6)

Special signaling pattern. A special signaling pattern is the neural process’s signaling pattern that can induce conscious awareness and a conscious experience of itself in the consciousness neural process. (Chapter 5)

“that signals”. “that signals” means “that is the information of”. (Section D8, Introduction & Definitions)

Variable qualia. Variable qualia are qualia that manifest themselves variably in people’s mind even if they are qualia of the same thing. (Chapter 9)

II. Glossary of abbreviations

E/EC = electrical/electrochemical (Chapter 2 & Chapter 5)

EPP = electrical/electrochemical-signal-processing process (Chapter 2)

IPP = information-processing process (Chapter 2)

SP = signaling pattern (Introduction & Definitions)

SS = signaling state (Introduction & Definitions)

SSP = special signaling pattern (Chapter 5 & Chapter 6)

ARAS = the ascending reticular activating system (Chapter 6)

MCS = minimally conscious state (Chapter 6)

VS = vegetative state (Chapter 6)

RVQ = randomly variable qualia (Chapter 9)

CRVQ = completely randomly variable qualia (Chapter 9)

PRVQ = partially randomly variable qualia (Chapter 9)

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