Abstract
Aron Gurwitsch’s Gestalt-inspired “field theory of consciousness”
was introduced in the same period as Wolfgang Köhler’s theory of
“electrical brain fields.” I consider parallels between these theories,
drawing on results that have emerged in the last five years. First, I
consider the claim that fields of consciousness supervene on electromagnetic
fields in the brain, then I outline Gurwitsch’s field theory of
consciousness, and finally I consider how the structures described by
Gurwitsch might relate to structures in the brain’s electro-magnetic
field. Along the way, I expose a dogma (that qualia are paradigmatic
conscious states) and develop an interpretation of Gurwitsch’s field
theory.