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How can we explain human consciousness with science?

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craig

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I don't mean how did it evolve. But what is it. I'll start.
An interface between the mind and body at the quantum level. Just a guess.
 
craig said:
I don't mean how did it evolve. But what is it. I'll start.
An interface between the mind and body at the quantum level. Just a guess.
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I just read something interesting that says consciousness might be contained in the electromagnetic activity that surrounds the brain and so not part of the body (dualism?). It is generated when neurons fire and be detected. It subsides during an unconscious state.
 
Why limit your question to humans?
 
Quag said:
Why limit your question to humans?
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I know I am conscious. I am similar enough to other humans to assume they are also conscious. (Aside from my cats who I know are conscious.) I can't make that assumption for non-humans. I don't rule it out but it gets complicated with being self aware. Perhaps language is required.
 
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craig said:
I know I am conscious. I am similar enough to other humans to assume they are also conscious. (Aside from my cats who I know are conscious.) I can't make that assumption for non-humans. I don't rule it out but it gets complicated with being self aware. Perhaps language is required.
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Unless we are using a different idea of conscious then there is no doubt animals are conscious.
 
Quag said:
Unless we are using a different idea of conscious then there is no doubt animals are conscious.
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You can tell me you are conscious, animals can't. I consider the inner monologue a defining attribute of consciousness. Perhaps I should always use the word consciousness not conscious. I don't know if animals are aware and make choices or are only driven by instinct.
 
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craig said:
I don't mean how did it evolve. But what is it. I'll start.
An interface between the mind and body at the quantum level. Just a guess.
Click to expand...

This would be interesting to understand if there were a practical purpose. ...e.g. to find people who have no consciousness so that could be given to them. Some things we just accept like gravity and the presence of the sun.....
 
Metanoia said:
This would be interesting to understand if there were a practical purpose. ...e.g. to find people who have no consciousness so that could be given to them. Some things we just accept like gravity and the presence of the sun.....
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Science is all about the practical. If Newton had not discovered the laws of gravity the modern world would not exist. Finding out what consciousness is and where it resides could be the key to immortality.
 
craig said:
Science is all about the practical. If Newton had not discovered the laws of gravity the modern world would not exist. Finding out what consciousness is and where it resides could be the key to immortality.
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Immorality is not practical...
 
craig said:
I don't mean how did it evolve. But what is it. I'll start.
An interface between the mind and body at the quantum level. Just a guess.
Click to expand...

Consciousness is a property of the brain. Just because we don't understand every detail of how it works doesn't mean it has to be based on anything "quantum" or woo-woo.
 
Elvira said:
Immorality is not practical...
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Science made photography possible. You can look at a picture of your great great grand mother and know something about her. Science may soon be able to take a picture of your mind and your great grand daughter will be able to meet you.
 
craig said:
Science is all about the practical. If Newton had not discovered the laws of gravity the modern world would not exist. Finding out what consciousness is and where it resides could be the key to immortality.
Click to expand...

For those concerned with over population of the world talk about the practicality of immortality......
 
Tlrmln said:
Consciousness is a property of the brain. Just because we don't understand every detail of how it works doesn't mean it has to be based on anything "quantum" or woo-woo.
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That is what we want to learn. A dead body has a brain, where is consciousness. Did it leave? Cease to exist? Does it still exist in the information contained in entangled particles?
 
Maybe Trump is a true ecologist.....close the borders and let coronavirus do its magic ?
 
Metanoia said:
For those concerned with over population of the world talk about the practicality of immortality......
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We are using two different meanings of "practical". I use it to mean can it be done. You are saying is it feasible to do it given these circumstances.
 
You can tell me you are conscious, animals can't. I consider the inner monologue a defining attribute of consciousness. Perhaps I should always use the word consciousness not conscious. I don't know if animals are aware and make choices or are only driven by instinct.
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Sure they can, with their actions/reactions.
I see no reason to consider language to be relevant to consciousness. If a human was raised without language would you say they have no consciousness?
 
craig said:
I don't mean how did it evolve. But what is it. I'll start.
An interface between the mind and body at the quantum level. Just a guess.
Click to expand...
How about an emergent property that we percive more than actually have from the amaglimation of all of our various mechanisms for "thinking"?
 
craig said:
That is what we want to learn. A dead body has a brain, where is consciousness. Did it leave? Cease to exist? Does it still exist in the information contained in entangled particles?
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A blown out car still has an engine, but it doesn't make any noise.

I expect our brains developed the conscious out of the necessity to have a subconscious to filter out the noise from all the "automated" parts of our bodies.

Imagine if you were "conscious" of your breathing, as in you had to intentionally draw every breath, and stopped breathing when you slept. Or had to actively pump your heart around the clock. The list isn't short.

We wouldn't get much else done, if only because of the endless distractions just trying to to keep our complex bodies functioning.

So the subconscious "automates" much of this, and the conscious gets to sort out the rest, which would be in large part everything external to the body.
 
Quag said:
I see no reason to consider language to be relevant to consciousness. If a human was raised without language would you say they have no consciousness?
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I think you have to make the distinction between concious and self concious or sentient.

A frog which wakes up and does its' stuff is concious in that it is awake.

Being aware of the model of you that somebody else has inside their head is the top of the thing.
 
Most accurate scientific answer: We don't know.

There's a whole bunch of hypotheses. None come close to being scientific theories.
 
craig said:
Science made photography possible. You can look at a picture of your great great grand mother and know something about her. Science may soon be able to take a picture of your mind and your great grand daughter will be able to meet you.
Click to expand...

Or perhaps not a "photograph" of your mind if we figure out how consciousness works and can isolate it.
 
craig said:
That is what we want to learn. A dead body has a brain, where is consciousness. Did it leave? Cease to exist? Does it still exist in the information contained in entangled particles?
Click to expand...

This is not that hard. Consciousness is related to the various functions of the body. Is a person who is “brain dead” still conscious? Depends on your definition of the word. That human clearly can no longer think, but the brain still knows enough to keep the bodily functions going. When the brain dies, everything basically shuts down. Without electro-chemical reactions, there is no more consciousness. Period. What is so hard about this to figure out?
 
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