That metaphor also implies that unconscious activity must occur in darkness, which isn't always so. Think about zoning out while driving, for instance, or when you alphabetize papers without realizing that you're doing it (that second one may be idiosyncratic). In those cases I'd say I'm acting unconsciously, or at least non-consciously, but the lights are on.
Can I borrow the “glowing object” metaphor for a paper I’m writing? I find it’s quite illustrative of Papineau’s non-relational view of sensory consciousness, where sensory contents are conscious not because we are aware of them, but because their internal qualitative features themselves are sufficient to establish consciousness (and we are constituted by the contents in our sensory experience, what Papineau calls “quasi-objects”).
That metaphor also implies that unconscious activity must occur in darkness, which isn't always so. Think about zoning out while driving, for instance, or when you alphabetize papers without realizing that you're doing it (that second one may be idiosyncratic). In those cases I'd say I'm acting unconsciously, or at least non-consciously, but the lights are on.
Yes, that sounds right to my ear too.
Hey Eric,
Can I borrow the “glowing object” metaphor for a paper I’m writing? I find it’s quite illustrative of Papineau’s non-relational view of sensory consciousness, where sensory contents are conscious not because we are aware of them, but because their internal qualitative features themselves are sufficient to establish consciousness (and we are constituted by the contents in our sensory experience, what Papineau calls “quasi-objects”).
Sure, please do!
I always took "the lights are on" metaphor to mean "somebody's home".