What is a global state of consciousness?

Abstract

The notion of a global state (or level) of consciousness is an increasingly important construct in the science of consciousness. However, exactly what a global state of consciousness is remains poorly understood. In this paper I offer an account of global states of consciousness as consciousness-related capacity modulations. On this view global states are not themselves phenomenal states - they are not occurring experiences. Rather, they are states that specify which of a creature’s overall consciousness-related capacities are currently online. I argue that a mature mechanistic science of consciousness needs to account for global states of consciousness and that doing so requires moving beyond the current focus on occurrent experiences and integrating consciousness research with research in other areas of cognitive neuroscience.