Chapter 5 - Consciousness: Decontextualized and Contextualized Approaches

Summary

Consciousness has been studied in mainstream psychology, but in a decontextualized way, as if individuals take shape in a vacuum. This decontextualized approach has resulted in the rejection of free will; as B. F. Skinner said, a science based on causation must exclude free will. At the same time, psychology works within the culture of self-help and individual responsibility, which contradicts the idea of there being no free will. These contradictions are resolved when we adopt a contextualized approach to understanding consciousness, which begins with the premise that consciousnes emerges through society merging into the individual, and the individual merging into society. The consciousness that emerges through socialization is highly dependent on group members, particularly social class. Through a contextualized 'from societies too cells' analysis, it becomes clear that the nature of consciousness depends in important ways on social class experiences.