I think those subsystems’ states (whether conscious or not) have to pass through the larger system’s access (e.g. attention) and report functions to be reported. They can’t report directly without passing through the larger system. At least, I’m not aware of any compelling evidence that they can do so directly and I’m not sure what it would look like.
Another interpretation of what’s happening with meditation is that it’s just generating different kinds of accessible conscious states, not revealing hidden ones. (It at least is generating different kinds of accessible conscious states, since otherwise we wouldn’t be discussing them.) You could have multiple subagents or personalities or similar, but they may only be conscious when accessed as part of the larger system.
Hi Richard, thanks for your comment!
I think those subsystems’ states (whether conscious or not) have to pass through the larger system’s access (e.g. attention) and report functions to be reported. They can’t report directly without passing through the larger system. At least, I’m not aware of any compelling evidence that they can do so directly and I’m not sure what it would look like.
Another interpretation of what’s happening with meditation is that it’s just generating different kinds of accessible conscious states, not revealing hidden ones. (It at least is generating different kinds of accessible conscious states, since otherwise we wouldn’t be discussing them.) You could have multiple subagents or personalities or similar, but they may only be conscious when accessed as part of the larger system.