{"id":2220,"date":"2018-08-10T22:34:37","date_gmt":"2018-08-11T02:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/thezenpagan\/?p=2220"},"modified":"2018-08-11T01:42:28","modified_gmt":"2018-08-11T05:42:28","slug":"eight-points-about-consciousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thezenpagan\/2018\/08\/eight-points-about-consciousness\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight Points About Consciousness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I wrote a Facebook comment<\/a> in response to a post about the idea of the brain as a receiver rather than a generator of consciousness, and realized I had written a mini-essay about consciousness.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

1. We have no good definition of what \u201cconsciousness\u201d is.<\/p>\n

2. If we\u2019re invoking science, whatever \u201cconsciousness\u201d is must be an objectively observable phenomenon \u2014 because that\u2019s the domain of science. So for such a discussion, \u201cconsciousness\u201d would seem to refer to an organism\u2019s behavior, including vocalizations (\u201cI think\u2026\u201d, \u201cI feel\u2026\u201d, etcetera).<\/p>\n

3. Neurological theory is able to give a general account of behavior. It is not complete, of course, but \u201cstimuli cause neurons to act in ways which change them, stimulate other neurons, and activate muscles and glands, creating complex integrated behavior\u201d has good explanatory power, matches observations, has produced useful results in AI and robotics, and does not require any multiplication of entities. (\u201cEntities must not be multiplied beyond necessity\u201d, Punch\u2019s formulation of Occam\u2019s razor.)<\/p>\n

4. There is no sound evidence for some external \u201ctransmitter\u201d which controls or affects neurons in animal brains in some special way. Without such evidence, speculation about its existence is like \u201cyou can\u2019t prove there\u2019s not an invisible gorilla in the room.\u201d It\u2019s true as an exercise in epistemology, but going around wondering if there are invisible gorillas is useless for getting things done.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

5. There is a strong cultural bias towards believing in some sort of external \u201ctransmitter\u201d, both because that is the majority belief and because it leads to a wish-fulfillment of surviving the death of the body in some way. Therefore such claims deserve extra skepticism.<\/p>\n

6. The existence of some sort of \u201ctransmitter\u201d is not compatible with our best scientific knowledge of the world. That doesn\u2019t make it false \u2014 science is a process, not a fixed body of facts<\/a> \u2014 but it\u2019s an extraordinary claim, and as we know \u201cextraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n

7. None of this denigrates the usefulness of ancient wisdom traditions in directly exploring one\u2019s own subjective experience of existence \u2014 a phenomenon that some people seem to mean when they say \u201cconsciousness\u201d. Conflating these two notions of \u201cconsciousness\u201d seems to be the source of many problems here.<\/p>\n

8. But that subjective experience is a phenomenon that is by its very nature outside the realm of objective scientific inquiry. Directly exploring your subjective experience is a matter of mysticism, not science. Doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t borrow some tools from science, of course, but if I say \u201cI melted into the Clear Light\u201d, science can only investigate that as a vocalization in the public and objective world, not as a direct subjective private experience.<\/p>\n

For further enlightenment, consult your pineal gland. Or you might devote a few several months to chewing though F. S. C. Northrop\u2019s \u201cThe Meeting of East and West\u201d, a thick bit of philosophy which really helped me straighten out the distinction between the theoretical, publicly accessible component of our experience, and the immediate empirical aspect. It\u2019s a heavy read but I highly recommend it.<\/p>\n

\n

You can keep up with \u201cThe Zen Pagan\u201d by subscribing via RSS<\/a> or e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Please consider supporting this blog with a donation or purchase.<\/a> The Zen Pagan Merch-o-rama has t-shirts, mugs, posters and prints, and stickers designed by yours truly.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have no good definition of what "consciousness" is. If we’re invoking science, whatever "consciousness" is must be an objectively observable phenomenon — because that’s the domain of science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1860,"featured_media":2229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[97,73,44],"class_list":["post-2220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","tag-consciousness","tag-mysticism","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\nEight Points About Consciousness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We have no good definition of what "consciousness" is. 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