The term ‘consciousness’ as it can be defined is the state of one being conscious or aware of one’s own being, existence, thoughts, feelings as well of his surroundings (Consciousness, 2014). It is often found that human beings tend to ignore the fact that consciousness is apparent in their existence. It has been assumed since early times that it is the brain that leads to production of consciousness in an individual. The brain in this case has largely been associated with the mind. While several studies have been conducted trying to determine the relation of consciousness with the brain, direct evidences were hard to find that could imply that brain and consciousness are identical. Rather it could be obtained that the operation of human consciousness can be beyond the brain or the body. Hence the two cannot be said to be identical (Dossey, 2009). Thus while the brain and the consciousness cannot be considered as identical, there is a relation between the two, which is the main focus of this particular study. The two have been found to be highly related to each other, as obtained by researchers. The activities of the brain do influence and determine the level of consciousness in an individual. And, this is the reason owing to which consciousness and the personality of an individual might be affected when the brain is damaged. The fact is that there are two aspects or views of the researchers in regard to the relation between the brain and consciousness of human beings. One aspect believes that consciousness is a particular activity of the brain, while others contradict such a theory (Psi, n.d.). While it is the common belief and understanding that consciousness is dependent on the functioning of the brain, philosophers and resea... ... middle of paper ... ...ss to go beyond the brain and powers of imagination; however, a strong relation between consciousness and the brain could be obtained from the study. This relation has been supported by several theories that have been developed over the years by significant number of researchers, though few have been discussed in this study. Researchers could obtain that the electronic signals and activities of the neurons have the power to link past history and events, with human emotions, and current situations towards making them conscious in their acts. Even the dreams that humans experience within their sleep could be obtained as a result of the acts within the brain that get activated during sleep owing to REM sleep that individuals in most cases experience. Hence it can be concluded from the study that consciousness is significantly dependent on the brain and its activities.
There is almost no doubt that there is a relationship between psychology and philosophy. Indeed, many people actually considering that the philosophies related to and concerned with the mind and thought are the precursor to modern psychology. Of course, most of these philosophies were decidedly western, or popular in the west. However, the problem with our western views of consciousness in philosophy and psychology is that often times the way we view the conscious process leads to a so-called "infinite regression." That is to say, if we see consciousness as a set of rules guiding our experiences in life, there must also be another set of rules that defines how we know when to use those rules, and so on and so forth. (Kurak 2001, 18-19). In this paper, I will attempt to show how we can turn to Buddhist principles to help us gain a better understanding of human consciousness.
Newman, J. B., Banks, W. P., & Baars, B. J. (2003). Essential Sources in the Scientific Study of Consciousness. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Is Consciousness something automatic, rooted in our selves, something inseparable in a being with abilities of
There is a great question on whether or not our conscious thoughts are something greater than a physical state: this question has two responses which state that yes, consciousness state and brain state are two separate states (dualism) and no, brain state and conscious state is one in the same (physicalism). I will be arguing that brain state and conscious state are the same by presenting scientific evidence and theories that support a physicalist view. This evidence will clearly state why the physical stance is supported while the dualist stance is not.
...logical, and scientific manner. Even to this day many people still raise the question about the unity of consciousness. As Elizabeth Schechter stated in her work “This work is about individuating mental tokens from a theoretical or scientific perspective, and about the insights that the split brain studies yield into such individualization. It focuses on two questions about mental tokens in split brain subjects in particular: how many minds they have, and how many streams of consciousness they have.”
McGinn begins by rejecting both traditional materialism and dualism. Materialists propose that the brain and consciousness are one and the same: thus, brain waves not only correlate with consciousness, they are consciousness. McGinn faults this position for ignoring the very nature of co...
There has been a growing trend among philosophers to consider consciousness as being a strictly material phenomenon with no transcendent characteristics. Consciousness is, to those who subscribe to this school of thought, merely the effect of matter and energy interacting. This trend owes its origin to the recent advancement of neuroscience coupled with certain philosophical trends. Though neuroscience has provided many answers to ancient questions about the mind, it cannot explain the source of consciousness. The philosophical trends are, much like the appeals to neuroscience, also flawed. This philosophical camp, which will henceforth be referred to as materialists, has much popularity, but cannot explain a highly important phenomenon that
Consciousness is a difficult term to grasp; so much so, that many scientists will not even attempt to define the term, much less search for it’s evidence. Most however, do agree that consciousness must include certain aspects; specifically cognition, self-awareness, memory, and abstract thought.
One theory, created by scientist Robert Lanza, is that death does not exist. Because people identify themselves with their body, they created an illusion in their mind that they will die and that is the end for both their physical body and consciousness. Lanza argues that one’s consciousness can be anywhere. Whether it is inside the body or outside, consciousness itself exists outside of the constraints of time and space. Suitable with the basic postulates of quantum mechanics, events can happen numerous times and a certain particle can be present anywhere (Learning Mind). Now, the big question is if consciousness is a product of our brain or if the brain is a receiver of consciousness. Both sides have evidence to back them up but also not enough to rule the other one out as wrong. Some evidence regarding the consciousness being separate from the brain is often ignored
Based on Professor Simone Glynn’s lectures consciousness is where impressions, dreams, memories, values and fantasies exist. Physically, It is the results of a chemical simulation of the brain; when physical things are structured in a certain way, it creates or gives rise to consciousness; emergent property.
How has perception of consciousness developed overtime and in recent time with the rapid increase in
Consciousness is not a term which could be well defined by science but a property of mind which can only be felt individually but sometimes observed by a third person. It is a state of mind. The existence of consciousness can be debated through questions such as (a)What is consciousness? (b)How does consciousness exist (in what form)? (c) Why does consciousness exist? What is the purpose of existence of consciousness if it exists? Our aim is not to definitively answer these questions but find ways to debate the existence of consciousness
Speculations on the origin of the mind have ranged from ghosts to society. Each new theory brings about more speculation and disagreement than the last. Where the mind resides, where it came from and if the brain has any involvement with the concept are common questions that fuel theory paradigms. Those questions are also the foundation of the debate about the roll of experience versus the existence of innate capacities. Steven Pinker theorizes the mind as a computing system created by the brain to fill the gap between innate capacities and capacities missing using common sense and learned critical thinking skills.
Even though we accept Cashmore's argument of free will being an illusion derived from consciousness and that consciousness has an evolutionary advantage of conferring the illusion of responsibility, we are still far from understanding the concept with consciousness and free will. What type of brain activity is associated with consciousness? Why does conscious experience exist at all? Research studies can not prove this to be incorrect but research results certainly do constrain the philosophical answers that we can seriously consider.