Thursday 19 June 2014

Questions of consciousness

The soft questions have to do with the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC).  The idea is that any subjective ‘thing’ that ‘appears’ to the mind (consciousness) will be associated with an objective activity in the brain. Neurologists now have a variety of brain scanning systems that make it possible to identify NCCs.

Note that the reverse is not true. There is an enormous amount of activity in the brain which does not register in consciousness. This raises questions about the decision making process that determines whether or not a brain activity will be made available to consciousness.

The hard question of consciousness deals with the physics of NCCs. Granting that the correlations exist, how does objective brain stuff (biochemistry) become subjective mind stuff (consciousness) and vice versa.

Note that this line of thought reflects the long standing philosophical problem of mind/body dualism. It also reflects the more populist notion of ‘mind over matter’ and its partner ‘matter over mind’.

Your mind decides that your arm should be raised above your head and it happens. That is magical. Even more magical is when your mind decides that somebody else’s arm should be raised above their head. This requires noises (words) to come from your mouth, pass through the air, and enter the ears of the other. There are then several rounds of coding and decoding in various parts of their brain that lead to a decision about whether or not to act.

Adolf Hitler was a talented speaker. His voice could make thousands of people raise their arms in Nazi salute. His mind was a prime mover behind the institutionalised gassing of Jews.

Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) was a talented speaker. His voice made thousands of people sit quietly and thus get to know the workings of their mindbrains. His mind was a prime mover behind the institutionalisation of mindfulness meditation.

I am minded of the UNESCO Constitution which includes the timeless realisation “That since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.”

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