During a morning session of the SPP, Benjamin Kozuch made the following argument involving higher order thought:
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- If Higher order theories of consciousness are true, then prefrontal lesions should produce manifest deficits in consciousness (as defined by HOT).
- PF lesions do not produce manifest deficits in consciousness.
- Therefore, many HO theories are not true.
Liad Murdik, in her comments, adeptly pointed out that the PFC is commonly taken to be a center (location, module, etc.) of HO states by a number of people, but this might be a mistake. She explains: it does not follow from the notion that the PFC is associated with higher order mental capacity (i.e. what makes humans more cognitively advanced than, say, mammals without a PFC) that the PFC is the location of HO thought or states. HO thoughts and states could very well be the product of dynamic relationships between various cortices.
Continue reading Higher-order Thought v. Higher-order Cortex