This essay examines the grammatical structure underlying the use of the word "conscious". Despite the existence of this grammatical structure, I reject the assumption that actual consciousness has a similar structure. Specifically, I reject the claim that consciousness consists of three subtypes: state consciousness, transitive consciousness, and creature consciousness. I offer an inductive argument and a deductive argument that no such psychological entities exist. The inductive argument: given the lack of evidence or arguments for the entities and given that a (...) tripartite consciousness structure evolved from a tripartite grammatical habit, it would be far too coincidental if the grammatical distinction mirrored a psychological distinction. The deductive argument shows that absurd conclusions follow from assuming the existence of three distinct psychological entities. Furthermore, the verbal habits that motivate the distinction are rendered more intelligible under a "Unitary Thesis", the idea that verbal distinctions involving use of the word "conscious" are unified in their reliance on a single ontological unit, that of conscious experience. (shrink)

The sublime has long been a key concept in the study of aesthetics. However, it has failed to gain traction in empirical aesthetics. With reference to Longinus, Burke, and Kant, this cross-disciplinary article defines the sublime as a mixture of fascination, exaltation, boundlessness, and fear. These descriptors are then compared with those of peak, ecstatic, and mystical psychological experiences; it is argued that they represent different approaches to the same phenomenon. In order to render sublime aesthetic states experimentally accessible, the (...) interplay of three factors is discussed. Firstly, focused attention and absorption are highlighted as active ingredients catalysing altered states. Secondly, external-to-internal entrainment is posited as a means by which a sense of continuity is established between perceiver and percept. Thirdly, it is recognized that autobiographical context and physical empathy will determine the extent to which any stimulus is capable of eliciting sublime feelings in an individual. (shrink)