Mind: A Brief Introduction (John R. Searle) / quote 109 of 138
The building-block approach to consciousness
our present era is remarkable in that there is a large number of very able neurobiologists attempting to figure out exactly how brain processes cause conscious states. Ideally, such a research project proceeds in the three stages I mentioned earlier. First, find the neuronal correlate of consciousness, called the NCC; second, test to see if the correlation is causal; third, get a theory. I think that we can divide this research for the purpose of our analysis into two different camps that I call respectively the “building-block approach” and the “unified-field approach.” On the building-block approach, we treat the entire conscious field as made up of more-or-less independent conscious units that I call “building blocks.” The experience of red, the taste of the beer, the sound of middle C, would be examples of the sorts of building blocks I have in mind. The idea of the building-block approach is this: if we could figure out exactly how the brain causes even one building block, say the perception of red, then we might use that knowledge to crack the whole problem of consciousness.