Final answer:
Psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung believed that the vast subconscious made it challenging to measure consciousness, viewing it as a complex aspect of the human experience that encompasses both the conscious and the unconscious mind. This perspective, complemented by philosophical ponderings on non-physical aspects of consciousness like qualia and hypothetical scenarios of minds detached from bodies, underscores the intricacies of studying consciousness.
Step-by-step explanation:
The psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung both suggested that a vast expanse of the human subconscious exists beyond our control or direct knowledge. They contended that the consciousness encompasses not only what is immediately present in the mind but also a plethora of underlying psychological processes. This complexity led to the belief that consciousness is not easily measurable or quantifiable. Regarding consciousness, it becomes clear that its nature is deeply intertwined with our subjective experience, such as the qualia felt during a toothache. While the understanding of consciousness has evolved, with some like Christof Koch expressing that consciousness is 'everything you experience,' the idea that consciousness could not be objectively measured was common among early psychologists who emphasized the unconscious.
Furthermore, discussions on philosophy of mind, such as the 'brain in a vat' scenario and the notion of a 'zombie' that behaves like a human but lacks conscious experience, illustrate the debates on whether consciousness is a non-physical phenomenon. The difficulty in defining and measuring consciousness highlights the intricate relationships between the mind, body, and our perceptions of reality as argued by philosophers like Merleau-Ponty, who opposed the sharp distinction between the mind and the body posited by Descartes.