William James conceived consciousness as a continuous stream of thought that may
ID: 3457429 • Letter: W
Question
William James conceived consciousness as a continuous stream of thought that may or may not be based on sensations. Consider a scenario in which you come home from work and are too tired to do anything. You sit down on the couch and turn the TV on, but for a while you are simply staring at the TV screen without paying attention to what is being played on TV; you realize that you are hungry and should try to find something to eat. Were you conscious during that period when you were blankly staring at the TV screen? Why or why not?
William James conceived consciousness as a continuous stream of thought that may or may not be based on sensations. Consider a scenario in which you come home from work and are too tired to do anything. You sit down on the couch and turn the TV on, but for a while you are simply staring at the TV screen without paying attention to what is being played on TV; you realize that you are hungry and should try to find something to eat. Were you conscious during that period when you were blankly staring at the TV screen? Why or why not?
Explanation / Answer
Stream of consciousness according to James is the continuous flow of one’s thoughts, feelings, images, ideas, sensations, conceptions, emotions etc. I was staring at the TV but my mind was busy with the thoughts of things happened in my office. I was not focusing on the TV and I didn’t feel hungry for a while because consciousness is a continuous process and my consciousness was on my official work although I reached home and was looking at the TV. So, I’m still continuing with my previous consciousness until remembered that I was hungry thus disconnecting myself from my previous consciousness which I might resume again.
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