---
abstract: 'Viewed from a first-person perspective consciousness appears to be necessary for complex, novel human activity - but viewed from a third-person perspective consciousness appears to play no role in the activity of brains, producing a "causal paradox". To resolve this paradox one needs to distinguish consciousness of processing from consciousness accompanying processing or causing processing. Accounts of consciousness/brain causal interactions switch between first- and third-person perspectives. However, epistemically, the differences between first- and third-person access are fundamental. First- and third-person accounts are complementary and mutually irreducible.'
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creators_name:
- family: Velmans
given: Max
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date: 1996
date_type: published
datestamp: 1998-02-12
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dir: disk0/00/00/05/96
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eprintid: 596
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keywords: 'psychological complementarity, causality, consciousness, first person, third person, causal paradox, mind, conscious process, perspectival switching, mixed perspective explanations'
lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:54:06
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number: 3
pagerange: 538-542
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publication: Behavioral and Brain Sciences
publisher: Cambridge University Press
refereed: TRUE
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rev_number: 8
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status_changed: 2007-09-12 16:31:56
subjects:
- behav-neuro-sci
- cog-psy
- phil-epist
- phil-mind
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title: Consciousness and the "Causal Paradox"
type: journalp
userid: 156
volume: 19