From consciousness to nothing

Abstract

What happens when consciousness fails to reach its full and supposedly “higher” level? How much consciousness must one have in order to be recognized as being “conscious”? Could we say that if an individual does not meet a basic standard of conscious activity then we cannot take her as a conscious being? What is sufficient to claim someone to be conscious, and how do we address the so-called “disorders of consciousness” without being unfair to the skills that are left? This work aims to discuss disorders of consciousness, using both philosophy of mind and practical knowledge in order to find a way to fairly treat and address patients that have not yet been diagnosed. To do this, this work will discuss disorders of consciousness, how they are diagnosed today and the main problems in clinical practice and observation. Then, it will investigate any external markers that could be strong indications of consciousness, and from there speculate what kind of thing consciousness is and what theories are being discussed to try to unveil consciousness itself. Finally, the conclusions will lead this work to discuss what we can do with the information that is available. In the final chapter, it will speculate whether there are any mathematical decision-making theories that could lead us to a final decision – the answer will be that this is not the best way to make decisions about disorders of consciousness, and therefore we must find a way to bring about ethical theories that will take into consideration a case-to-case scenario, respecting patient (or family) history and points of view.