The concepts of the "hard problem" and the "soft problems" of consciousness were introduced by the philosopher David Chalmers in the mid-1990s. These terms differentiate between different aspects of studying consciousness. Here’s a detailed explanation:
### Soft Problems of Consciousness
The "soft problems" of consciousness, also known as the "easy problems," refer to the aspects of consciousness that seem to be more accessible to scientific investigation. These problems involve explaining various cognitive functions and processes that underlie conscious experience. They are considered "soft" or "easy" not because they are simple, but because they involve mechanisms that are theoretically understandable through scientific methods, such as:
1. **Perception**: Understanding how the brain processes sensory information to produce perceptions.
2. **Attention**: Investigating how the brain focuses on specific stimuli or thoughts among the vast array of available information.
3. **Memory**: Exploring how experiences are stored, retrieved, and used by the brain.
4. **Learning**: Examining how the brain adapts and changes in response to new information.
5. **Decision-Making**: Analyzing how the brain evaluates options and makes choices.
6. **Language**: Studying how the brain processes and produces language.
7. **Emotion**: Understanding how emotional states are generated and regulated in the brain.
These problems involve identifying the neural and cognitive mechanisms responsible for various functions and explaining how they work in terms of brain activity and structure.
### Hard Problem of Consciousness
The "hard problem" of consciousness refers to the challenge of explaining why and how subjective experiences, or qualia, arise from physical processes in the brain. This problem is considered "hard" because it goes beyond understanding the mechanisms of cognitive functions to addressing the nature of conscious experience itself. Key aspects include:
1. **Qualia**: The hard problem involves explaining why certain brain processes are accompanied by subjective experiences. For example, why does the process of seeing the color red produce a particular qualitative experience?
2. **Subjectivity**: Understanding how and why brain activity gives rise to a first-person perspective or the sense of being an individual with personal experiences.
3. **Consciousness**: Explaining why physical processes in the brain are associated with consciousness at all, rather than occurring without any subjective experience.
### Key Challenges of the Hard Problem
- **Explanatory Gap**: There is a perceived gap between physical processes and subjective experiences that current scientific methods struggle to bridge.
- **Mind-Body Problem**: The hard problem is closely related to the mind-body problem, which concerns the relationship between mental states and physical states.
### Philosophical Positions
- **Physicalism**: Some philosophers and scientists believe that consciousness can ultimately be explained in terms of physical processes, although they acknowledge that this may require new scientific theories.
- **Dualism**: Others argue that consciousness cannot be fully explained by physical processes alone and posit that non-physical properties or substances are involved.
- **Panpsychism**: This view suggests that consciousness is a fundamental feature of the universe, present to some degree in all matter.
### Conclusion
The distinction between the soft and hard problems of consciousness highlights the complexity of studying consciousness. While the soft problems involve explaining cognitive functions through scientific investigation, the hard problem challenges us to understand why and how these functions are accompanied by subjective experiences. Solving the hard problem remains one of the most profound and challenging questions in philosophy and cognitive science.
意識功能為第六識，主觀經驗則已入第七識，意思是說，soft problem 是第六識，hard problem 是第七識，潛意識則為第八識，雖然阿賴耶識，是宇宙意識，業力流轉，比精神分析的潛意識，更超越個人史的爸爸媽媽，更富宇宙論的歷史趣味，
