The consciousness studies are unavoidably linked to the mind-body problem,
as most of the researchers are trying to investigate how a physical system
(namely the brain) generates mental property (consciousness). To get
around this problem the researchers often seem to endorse physicalism and
identity theory but it is not clear to what extent, if any, does the research
practice or the evidence based theories of consciousness depend on such
assumptions. Here, we provide a few examples of studies investigating the
so-called Neural Correlates of Consciousness (NCC). Based on these examples
and the contents of the methodological papers addressing the problem
of identifying the NCCs, we provide a novel, operational definition
of the NCC. This allows us to shed some light on the meaning of various
claims about the causal role of consciousness within the field of empirical
studies. We also provide an inference rule for identifying the NCCs and the
exhaustive list of the NCC confounders in the typical research paradigms.
keywords in English:
consciousness, awareness, neural correlates of consciousness (NCC), neural causes of consciousness, NCC confounders