Attention is not a mental spotlight from "summary" of The Concept of Mind by Gilbert Ryle
Attention is not a mental spotlight. This metaphor of a spotlight suggests that attention is like a beam of light that can be directed to focus on one particular object or idea at a time. The analogy implies that attention is a single, unified faculty that can be turned on or off at will. However, this simplistic view fails to capture the complexity of attention as a mental process. In reality, attention is not a single, unified faculty, but rather a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. It involves a variety of cognitive processes, such as selection, inhibition, and allocation of resources. These processes work together in a dynamic and interactive way to determine what we attend to and how we attend to it. Moreover, attention is not a passive spotlight that simply illuminates whatever it is directed towards. Instead, it is an active and constr...
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