Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
consolidated
English answer:
[well] established
Added to glossary by
Neil Ashby
Jun 10, 2020 13:16
3 yrs ago
44 viewers *
English term
consolidated
English
Social Sciences
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
definition of mind
Dear colleagues,
I'm not sure of the meaning of the adjective "consolidated" in the passage below (toward the end) about the definition of what the mind is.
I've found this previous Kudoz question https://www.proz.com/kudoz/english/tech-engineering/418527-c... Maybe, it could mean "common" or "shared" in my context, but I'm not sure...
Thank you for any hint!
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The term “mind” lacks a definition in many fields that focus on the mind (…) Common descriptions include our emotions and thinking, our reasoning and memory. But what exactly are these descriptions really pointing to? What is the essential “stuff” of mind that underlies these useful and common descriptions of what we mean by the activities of mind? We could organize a descriptive view of what we mean from these approaches to mind as having at least three facets. One is subjective experience. Even if mind were completely dependent on the brain, and the brain in the head alone, placing our first-person experience, our inner subjective felt texture of life only in the head does not make subjective experience the same as brain activity. (…)
A second facet of mind that also cannot be reduced merely to brain activity is the way we know we are having a subjective experience. This knowing emerges with being aware, one component of what is meant by the term “consciousness.” (…) A third facet of mind that might include the common descriptions of thought, memory, and even emotion is information processing. (..)
These first three facets of the mind are *** consolidated *** descriptions of what many people might find familiar ideas and terms for what is meant by the term “mind.” Yet we cannot draw from these three fundamental and important facets of mind a way of addressing the question, what exactly is the mind? And we also cannot address the question, what might a healthy mind actually be?
I'm not sure of the meaning of the adjective "consolidated" in the passage below (toward the end) about the definition of what the mind is.
I've found this previous Kudoz question https://www.proz.com/kudoz/english/tech-engineering/418527-c... Maybe, it could mean "common" or "shared" in my context, but I'm not sure...
Thank you for any hint!
*********************************************************
The term “mind” lacks a definition in many fields that focus on the mind (…) Common descriptions include our emotions and thinking, our reasoning and memory. But what exactly are these descriptions really pointing to? What is the essential “stuff” of mind that underlies these useful and common descriptions of what we mean by the activities of mind? We could organize a descriptive view of what we mean from these approaches to mind as having at least three facets. One is subjective experience. Even if mind were completely dependent on the brain, and the brain in the head alone, placing our first-person experience, our inner subjective felt texture of life only in the head does not make subjective experience the same as brain activity. (…)
A second facet of mind that also cannot be reduced merely to brain activity is the way we know we are having a subjective experience. This knowing emerges with being aware, one component of what is meant by the term “consciousness.” (…) A third facet of mind that might include the common descriptions of thought, memory, and even emotion is information processing. (..)
These first three facets of the mind are *** consolidated *** descriptions of what many people might find familiar ideas and terms for what is meant by the term “mind.” Yet we cannot draw from these three fundamental and important facets of mind a way of addressing the question, what exactly is the mind? And we also cannot address the question, what might a healthy mind actually be?
Change log
Jun 16, 2020 16:09: Neil Ashby Created KOG entry
Responses
+1
1 hr
Selected
[well] established
As in "well accepted by the scientific community".
That's why it's followed by:
"Yet we cannot draw from these three fundamental and important facets of mind a way of addressing the question, what exactly is the mind?"
- even though these facets are well established, we still cannot use them (or they are insufficient) to define what the mind is.
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Note added at 23 hrs (2020-06-11 12:18:04 GMT)
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"to make or become stronger or more stable"
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/consolidate
"The new evidence consolidated [further established] the model's predictive power", for example. That's my interpretation anyway ;@)
That's why it's followed by:
"Yet we cannot draw from these three fundamental and important facets of mind a way of addressing the question, what exactly is the mind?"
- even though these facets are well established, we still cannot use them (or they are insufficient) to define what the mind is.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 hrs (2020-06-11 12:18:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"to make or become stronger or more stable"
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/consolidate
"The new evidence consolidated [further established] the model's predictive power", for example. That's my interpretation anyway ;@)
Note from asker:
Hi, Neil, thank you so much for your contribution! Actually I also thought of this possibility... although I was not sure whether it would be a "standard" use of this term... Maybe it has been used with multiple nuances of meaning... |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you so much, Neil, for your valuable help!
A sincere thanks to all of you for your contribution: in all probability, this term can have different nuances of meaning according to context. In this particular context, after reexamining also other parts of the text, I think this may be the most suitable solution."
+1
7 mins
combined
to combine = to bring together or unite things that were separate.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/consolid...
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/consolid...
Peer comment(s):
agree |
philgoddard
12 hrs
|
Thank you
|
|
neutral |
Neil Ashby
: If it were in the sense of "combined", wouldn't the rest read "These first three facets of the mind are consolidated into a single description..."?
1 day 19 mins
|
20 mins
integrated
'Consolidated' means to 'combine (a number of things) into a single more effective or coherent whole' in this context. You'll find that definition in any decent dictionary. Some other synonyms are, 'united and merged', in addition to 'combined', which Mark Robertson has already suggested.
28 mins
to bring together or unite things that were separate:
to bring together or unite things that were separate:
+2
39 mins
combined and thereby strengthened
Consolidate can mean both "to unite/combine" and "to strengthen/make solid". I'd say that in this context it means that the author has synthesized different accounts of the functions of the mind into these three points which they consider wide-spread. They focus on what different "common descriptions", as the author puts it, have in common and thereby arrive at some universal points.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
: yes, synthesized accounts into,... widespread, universal points
1 day 12 hrs
|
Thank you, Yvonne!
|
|
agree |
Charlesp
4 days
|
Thank you!
|
Discussion
I also tend to think that "established" could work in this context, because later on the author uses the adjective "common" referring to these same descriptions:
*********
For these reasons, it seemed that staying at the level of these descriptions
of mental life was not enough for any of the fields in which I worked, including
mental health, education, and developmental research. Something more
seemed to be needed for us to move our work forward. It seemed important
to move beyond *** these common descriptions ***, even as condensed and useful as
these three facets may be, to find a fourth facet that might serve as a definition.
Plus that's exactly what I'm trying to say; I don't think it is "consolidate" as in "combine" (that's your interpretation), but rather as in "make stronger", ergo my interpretation and answer ("established"). And the circle is complete. ;@)
to consolidate: to make or become stronger or more stable
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/consolidate
to establish: to cause to be accepted or recognized
https://www.wordreference.com/definition/established