Department of Psychology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2024 Oct-Dec;72(4):385-396. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2024.2382291. Epub 2024 Jul 31.
Hypnosis has sometimes been described as an "altered state of consciousness," but what is "unaltered" consciousness? We approach the issue by first exploring the sense of free will, because it can be lost during hypnosis. However, the argument is developed that free will is an illusion, so should not be present in the waking state. Thus, in a sense, hypnosis is a more accurate state of consciousness. The sense of free will is shown to result from an experience of agency, which is often missing in hypnosis. We consider how hypnotic, illusory perceptions are developed, and plausible processes are discussed, but none throws clear light upon what the philosopher David Chalmers called the "hard problem" of consciousness. The paper concludes with a brief evaluation of the possibility that phenomenal consciousness is associated with feedback loops, which transform the simple registering of stimuli into experiences of which we are aware.
催眠有时被描述为一种“意识改变状态”，但什么是“未改变”的意识呢？我们首先通过探索自由意志的感觉来解决这个问题，因为在催眠期间，自由意志可能会丧失。然而，我们提出的论点是，自由意志是一种幻觉，因此在清醒状态下不应该存在。因此，从某种意义上说，催眠是一种更准确的意识状态。自由意志的感觉来自于一种代理体验，而这种体验在催眠中往往是缺失的。我们考虑了催眠、幻觉知觉是如何产生的，并讨论了一些合理的过程，但没有一个过程能清楚地解释哲学家大卫·查默斯所说的意识的“难题”。本文最后简要评估了意识现象是否与反馈回路有关的可能性，这种反馈回路将刺激的简单记录转化为我们所意识到的体验。
