Editing Multiple drafts model (section)

{{Short description|Physicalist theory of consciousness based upon cognitivism}}

[[Daniel Dennett]]'s '''multiple drafts model''' ('''MDM''') '''of consciousness''' is a [[physicalism|physicalist]] theory of [[consciousness]] based upon [[cognitivism (psychology)|cognitivism]], which views the [[mind]] in terms of [[Information processing (psychology)|information processing]]. The theory is described in depth in his book, ''[[Consciousness Explained]]'', published in 1991. As the title states, the book proposes a high-level explanation of consciousness which is consistent with support for the possibility of [[Artificial general intelligence|strong AI.]]

Dennett describes the theory as ''first-person [[operationalism]]''. As he states it:
{{quote|The Multiple Drafts model makes [the procedure of] "writing it down" in memory criterial for consciousness: that is ''what it is'' for the "given" to be "taken" ... There is no reality of conscious experience independent of the effects of various vehicles of content on subsequent action (and hence, of course, on memory).<ref name="dennett1">{{cite book |last=Dennett |first=Daniel C. |title=Consciousness Explained |year=1991 |publisher=Little, Brown & Co.}}</ref>}}