--- abstract: 'Definitions of consciousness need to be sufficiently broad to include all examples of conscious states and sufficiently narrow to exclude entities, events and processes that are not conscious. Unfortunately, deviations from these simple principles are common in modern consciousness studies, with consequent confusion and internal division in the field. The present paper gives example of ways in which definitions of consciousness can be either too broad or too narrow. It also discusses some of the main ways in which pre-existing theoretical commitments (about the nature of consciousness, mind and world) have intruded into definitions. Similar problems can arise in the way a “conscious process” is defined, potentially obscuring the way that conscious phenomenology actually relates to its neural correlates and antecedent causes in the brain, body and external world. Once a definition of “consciousness” is firmly grounded in its phenomenology, investigations of its ontology and its relationships to entities, events and processes that are not conscious can begin, and this may in time transmute the meaning (or sense) of the term. As our scientific understanding of these relationships deepen, our understanding of what consciousness is will also deepen. A similar transmutation of meaning (with growth of knowledge) occurs with basic terms in physics such as "energy", and "time."' altloc: [] chapter: ~ commentary: ~ commref: ~ confdates: ~ conference: ~ confloc: ~ contact_email: ~ creators_id: [] creators_name: - family: Velmans given: Max honourific: Prof lineage: '' date: 2009 date_type: published datestamp: 2009-06-10 07:59:14 department: ~ dir: disk0/00/00/64/53 edit_lock_since: ~ edit_lock_until: ~ edit_lock_user: ~ editors_id: [] editors_name: [] eprint_status: archive eprintid: 6453 fileinfo: /style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png;/6453/1/How_to_define_consciousness.pdf full_text_status: public importid: ~ institution: ~ isbn: ~ ispublished: pub issn: ~ item_issues_comment: [] item_issues_count: 0 item_issues_description: [] item_issues_id: [] item_issues_reported_by: [] item_issues_resolved_by: [] item_issues_status: [] item_issues_timestamp: [] item_issues_type: [] keywords: 'definition, consciousness, conscious process, unconscious, mind, phenomenology, access consciousness, global workspace' lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:57:21 latitude: ~ longitude: ~ metadata_visibility: show note: ~ number: 5 pagerange: 139-156 pubdom: TRUE publication: Journal of Consciousness Studies publisher: Imprint Academic refereed: TRUE referencetext: "Baars, B.J. 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(2007), ‘Killing the straw man: Dennett and phenomenology’, Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 6(4), pp. 331-47.\r\n" relation_type: [] relation_uri: [] reportno: ~ rev_number: 24 series: ~ source: ~ status_changed: 2009-06-10 07:59:14 subjects: - phil-mind - phil-metaphys - percep-cog-psy succeeds: ~ suggestions: ~ sword_depositor: ~ sword_slug: ~ thesistype: ~ title: HOW TO DEFINE CONSCIOUSNESS—AND HOW NOT TO DEFINE CONSCIOUSNESS type: journalp userid: 156 volume: 16