Ozzie
Well-Known Member
I listened to an interesting radio report mentioning a FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging study) conducted on a patient who had been in a persistant vegetative state for a year after suffering injury in a car accident. The study found the patient's brain showed activation in the language cortex when presented with sentences, activation in areas of the brain associated with imaging physical activity when asked to imagine playing tennis, and activation in areas of the brain associated with navigation when asked to navigate a familiar context. The researcher(s) concluded the patient was conscious. (I will try to find the source article).
Evidently this person is capable of understanding language in some way despite being diagnosed in a persistent vegetative state.
Do you think the researcher is justified in concluding the patient is conscious? Why or why not?
Does your religious belief influence your reasoning?
What does this evidence suggest about the nature of consciousness?
What does this evidence suggest about the nature of self?
Evidently this person is capable of understanding language in some way despite being diagnosed in a persistent vegetative state.
Do you think the researcher is justified in concluding the patient is conscious? Why or why not?
Does your religious belief influence your reasoning?
What does this evidence suggest about the nature of consciousness?
What does this evidence suggest about the nature of self?