ABSTRACT
Consciousness is presently at the centre of attention. With the demise of strict behaviourism has come a flood of activity attempting to understand this highest level of human activity. With the development of better understanding of the possible modes of action of neural networks, both at the artificial and living levels it should be possible to explore models of the mind with a realistic relation to the actual physical structures involved. There are numerous problems which have been raised about the nature of consciousness, and many conjectures as to their solution. The problems can be divided into the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ questions. The soft problems are concerned with the underlying neural processes which are required to support consciousness, and whose modifications by drugs, brain injury or disease can cause considerable changes to personality and effectiveness in response to the tasks of every-day life. The phenomenon of ‘backward referral in time’ has caused a great deal of discussion.
