> Ed wrote:

>> In all such discussions I am struck by the absence of clarity in the
>> phrase "consciously experiencing".  Other brain functions seem
>> clearer; ideas like "remembering" or "recognizing" or even "deciding"
>> seem relatively amenable to definition.  "Consciously experiencing" on
>> the other hand never seems to get defined.

>

>> What distinguishes "consciously experiencing" from "experiencing"?
>> Suppose I'm concentrating really hard on a math problem while eating a
>> candy.  After I solve the problem I notice the aftertaste of the candy
>> in my mouth.  Did I "consciously experience" the taste of the candy?
>> When?  There's no question that the taste buds were stimulated,
>> signals were sent to the brain etc, I just didn't notice at the time.

>

>> Have you ever had the experience of walking down the street and
>> suddenly stopping and turning back because you realize you saw
>> something that caught your interest but you took several steps before
>> you realized it?  When you saw it did you "consciously experience"
>> it?  You couldn't "consciously experience" it later when you stop, by
>> that time it's not an experience, it's a memory of an experience.  On
>> the other hand it makes a mockery of the word "consciously" to say you
>> "consciously experienced" it when you saw it but you weren't conscious
>> of it at that time.

>

>> Examples like this make me believe that I, at least, do not know what
>> "consciously experiencing" actually involves.

>
> Try this Ed:
>
> http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Articles/jcs02.htm