A Wave Particle Theory Of Conscious Awareness A Philosophical Viewpoint
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A Wave-Particle Theory of Conscious Awareness (A Philosophical Viewpoint)
[2025 updated edition: new chapters on why AIs cannot be conscious, the nature of evil, the place of evolution, and the intellectual, and natural-unnatural equivalence fallacies] To explain consciousness we must explain not just sensations but how a three-dimensional world is perceived without relying on an inner eye (or homunculus) that can make sense of depth cues etc. Both problems are tackled here as well as language, aesthetics and morality. The text systematically and ruthlessly dismantles the apparent mechanism of the inner eye (or the homunculus) and shows how all thought and experience and the apparent individual point of view can be accounted for in terms of fundamental quanta of sensation, before going on to show how these remaining basic units of sensation are not (and cannot be) emergent phenomena but must be part of a field effect. The strategy for the text is to systematically remove any and all conceptual need for a homunculus in the explanation of consciousness, and to scrutinize what must be the case for what remains. Step One - Perceptions and the Brain Preamble A: In everyday discourse about our experience, the content of perception—the pale blue of a region of sky, the tone of the bass guitar in the beat of a dance track, or the sweet almond flavour of marzipan—might be thought of as distinct from the perceiving since I can choose where I focus my attention: on the view through a restaurant window, on the music coming from the café opposite, or on the marzipan coating of the slice of Battenberg cake I am eating. However, let us for the purpose of this enquiry start by treating the content of perception and our experiencing that perception—the perceiving, as it were—as inseparable. There is no content without the experience; there is no experience without the content. For our purposes, the perceiving is distinct from the deliberate, or otherwise, action of setting the focus of one’s attention here or there—on the cake or on the music. Preamble B: It is ultimately an aggregation of these content/perceiving pairings that constitutes the totality of our conscious awareness. Which is to say that any other aspect of our brain’s conscious processes: the focussing of attention, acts of will, or anger, greed and so on must either be incorporated into the scheme as content/perceiving pairings themselves, or be explicable in terms of some arrangement of content/perceiving pairings. Which is to say, there is nothing in our consciousness beyond these content/perceiving pairings, so every conscious experience must be capable of expression in terms of some or other or set of content/perceiving pairings. Idea: Perceptions belong to the brain, are generated by the brain, are private to the brain, exist only within the brain, and do not extend into the external world beyond our bodies. Elaboration: The sky is not blue. Rather: photons of light of certain frequencies arrive on the backs of our eyes from the atmosphere. Light receptor cells in our eyes then send electro-chemical signals into the brain, and the brain generates the sensation of some or other colour in response to the electro-chemical signals. Our perceptions are generated by our brains; we do not swim in a sea of perceptions picking up those useful to us as we pass through them (or them through us). Corollary: At first blush, the perceptions described here accord with the philosophical concept of Secondary Qualities.
Consciousness from a Broad Perspective
This volume offers an introduction to consciousness research within philosophy, psychology and neuroscience, from a philosophical perspective and with an emphasis on the history of ideas and core concepts. The book begins by examining consciousness as a modern mystery. Thereafter, the book introduces philosophy of mind and the mind-body problem, and proceeds to explore psychological, philosophical and neuroscientific approaches to mind and consciousness. The book then presents a discussion of mysterianist views of consciousness in response to what can be perceived as insurmountable scientific challenges to the problem of consciousness. As a response to mysterianist views, the next chapters examine radical approaches to rethinking the problem of consciousness, including externalist approaches. The final two chapters present the author’s personal view of the problem of consciousness. Consciousness remains a mystery for contemporary science—a mystery raising many questions. Why does consciousness persist as a mystery? Are we humans not intelligent enough to solve the riddle of consciousness? If we can solve this mystery, what would it take? What research would we need to conduct? Moreover, the mystery of consciousness prompts the larger question of how well the cognitive sciences have actually advanced our understanding of ourselves as human beings. After all, consciousness is not just a minor part of our existence. Without consciousness, we would not be human beings at all. This book aims to increase the accessibility of major ideas in the field of consciousness research and to inspire readers to contribute to the ongoing discussion of the place of consciousness in nature.
Consciousness Is All There Is
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER From a renowned Vedic scholar, leader of the Maharishi Foundations, and Harvard-trained neuroscientist: a radical new paradigm for understanding Consciousness and finding enlightenment, peace, and fulfillment Dr. Tony Nader, a renowned Vedic scholar and neuroscientist, offers a direct path to peace for ourselves and our world that anyone can obtain—simply by delving into our own Consciousness. Dr. Nader provides the methods, tools, and guidance for connecting with our authentic inner nature and understanding how Consciousness is the essence of all existence, including addressing such fundamental questions as: What is the key to a well-lived, flourishing life in which we can all coexist in peace? Can freedom be compatible with law and order? How can we meet all our challenges as individuals and a society, including the environment, genetic engineering, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence? True wellness is a state of profound clarity, peace, and contentment, resulting from connection with our pure Consciousness. By enlivening our coherence between our Consciousness and the external world, we can find our happiest and highest states of ourselves. "Consciousness Is All There Is will open doors of perception for you to a new and profound understanding of life." — Marci Shimoff, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul and Happy for No Reason