How big is your pineal gland?
Sanjay Manohar 2008

Empirical metaphysics of consciousness
It has been suggested (Rabinowitz) that people who are strict materialists about consciousness are themselves not conscious in the same way as those who believe there exists a 'hard problem' of consciousness (Chalmers). We believe that (at least in those people who are conscious) the degree of consciousness can vary e.g. when asleep, and that this probably has a biological basis (e.g. it can be affected by drugs). Therefore it is entirely plausible to me that there is natural biological variation in humans, in the degree to which they experience consciousness.

But on the other hand, it could be argued that subjective consciousness is entirely yoked to certain cognitive processes. If this is the case, there could be no dissociation between cognitive and subjective processes - i.e. if you're thinking, and possess language, emotion and memory, then you are always subjectively conscious. However, the only window we currently have into subjective consciousess is by verbal report. Therefore this argument does not explain the fact that, by merit of their verbal report, certain 'cognitively normal' individuals are, in fact, not conscious!

Intersubjectivity

Consciousness and introspection seem to be perfectly made for each other, since the nature of pure consciousness cannot (by definition) be accessed through any other means, and consciousness is the only thing that can soley be explored by introspection. This questionnaire is an empirical elaboration of introspection. However it is true that a being with our all cognitive abilities, but without awareness (a 'zombie') would be able to introspect too - it could never 'find out' that it was unconscious - so this may well be a false lead. According to a kind of 'private language argument', such individuals would believe and report that they were consciousness, despite some very-hard-to-measure paucity of conscious awareness.
I proceed by (perhaps falsely) assuming that although zombies don't know that they are, we can somehow find out by careful questioning about how they interpret consciousness-related terms.

Culture

If there is in fact a variation in the amount or quality of consciousness between individuals, we could attribute it to cultural, social, genetic, or physiological differences. But at present it is very difficult to dissociate these factors, i.e. how much of our attitudes and beliefs towards consciousness are actually nurture rather than nature. This questionnaire aims to separate out our beliefs and ideas about consciousness (that is, the cultural and conditioned component) from our actual, qualitative experience of what it is like to be conscious.

Consciousness Questionnaire

These questions use the word 'consciousness' to mean subjective experience, being-there, i.e. something common to everything you feel. Some of the questions are deliberately vague, and you will probably find that your answers severely misrepresent your beliefs! But please, don't be put off.
Age group
Sex
Field
Are you conscious? Yes No
Are dogs conscious? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Are individual ants conscious? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Are babies conscious? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Could computers (someday) be conscious? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Is it possible to be conscious without being conscious *of* something? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Are you conscious during a dream? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Are you conscious while asleep but not dreaming? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Does your consciousness live on after death? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Does your consciousness exist before you are born? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Is awareness the same as consciousness? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Can you be aware of something that is subconscious? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Do different people experience similar things for, say, pleasure or pain? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Do you think other people are conscious in the same way that you are? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Consciousness probably requires certain physical or biological criteria. But is consciousness soley a physical or biological process? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Do you ever get a sense of awe from the the feeling of 'being here'? Yes No
Have you tried to imagine what it is like to be unconscious? Yes No
Have there been moments when you feel that you are the only person who truly exists in the world? Yes No
Does consciousness 'take place' in the brain? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Do you ever feel that your perception or experience of the world is truer than the real world? Yes No
Does time pass faster when you are half-asleep? Definitely Not sure Definitely not - it passes at the same speed always Definitely not - it passes slower
If a tree falls in a forest with nobody around, does it make a sound? Yes No
Do you have free will? Yes No
Can a machine have free will? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
If humans behave unpredictably, is it simply that we don't know enough about the brain yet? Yes No
If your brain is transplanted to someone else's body, are *you* also transplanted into their body? Yes No
Is it possible to become 'more conscious' than you are now? Yes No
Do you have one single, same consciousness throughout your life? Yes No
If your brain is cut in half down the middle, are you still a single being? (Yes, this can be done on the NHS!) Yes Something in between No
Are you aware of a series/sequence of images and scenes, rather than a continuous stream of consciousness? Yes, a sequence No, continuous.
Have you ever dreamed that you are dreaming? Yes No
Does consciousness 'do' anything useful? Definitely Probably Probably not Definitely not
Do you need to know that you are conscious, in order to be conscious? Yes No
If you and I both see an apple and verbally agree it is red, is the colour I perceive the same as the colour you perceive? Yes, the same No, different Meaningless question
Can consciousness be modified by social and cultural factors? Yes No
I found answering all these questions very easy Yes, answers often obvious Somewhat No, very difficult Many of the questions are meaningless
Have you experienced deja vu? Often Rarely Never
I can often remember dreams Yes, every day A couple a week A couple a month Quite arely
I can easily imagine and mentally rotate 3-dimensional geometric figures Yes, very easily Quite easily With some difficulty No, very difficult
When I close my eyes and imagine a picture scene, my images are very vivid and photographic Yes, very vivid Moderately Not very vivid Not vivid at all
I have heard of the following people:
Plato Rene Descartes George Berkeley Johann Fichte
Augustine of Hippo Jean-Paul Sartre Nicolas Malebranche Ferdinand de Saussure
Sigmund Freud Daniel Dennett John Searle Richard Rorty
Oliver Sacks Ramon y Cajal Larry Weiskrantz David Hubel
Alan Turing Donald Knuth Haskell Curry Ray Jackendorff
Herodotus Giorgio Vasari Karlheinz Stockhausen Le Corbusier
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