Teadvus

Teadvus is the state or condition of conscious experience, referring to the awareness of oneself and the surrounding world, including thoughts, sensations, emotions, and perceptions. In philosophy and cognitive science it is often analyzed as comprising distinct aspects, notably phenomenal consciousness, which is the subjective quality of experience, and access consciousness, which concerns information that is available for reasoning, reporting, and guiding behavior. The term is used across languages to discuss questions about mind, experience, and agency.

Consciousness is studied at multiple levels. Wakefulness and alertness form the basic level, while dream and altered states (such as hypnosis or anaesthesia) show how conscious content can change without complete loss of neural organization. Self-awareness, attention, and intentional action are additional facets that researchers examine to understand how experiences relate to behavior and decision making.

Theoretical approaches to teadvus vary. Physicalist or materialist theories hold that consciousness arises from neural processes in the brain. Dualist perspectives posit a fundamental distinction between mind and body. Functionalist and representational theories focus on the causal roles and information processing associated with mental states. Prominent modern theories include global workspace theory, which emphasizes widespread neural integration, and integrated information theory, which relates consciousness to informational structure. The ongoing “hard problem” question asks why and how physical processes give rise to subjective experience.

Methods to study teadvus combine neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, using tools such as EEG and fMRI, behavioral experiments, and introspection. Challenges include measuring subjective experience and inferring consciousness in non-responsive states. Understanding teadvus has implications for artificial intelligence, medicine, and ethics as research progresses.