RE: why do we enjoy poetry From the perspective of neuroscience?
January 15, 2019 at 11:10 pm
(This post was last modified: January 15, 2019 at 11:45 pm by Alan V.)
(January 15, 2019 at 3:01 pm)bennyboy Wrote: I do not know whether time is a dimension, or how the Universe carries state information from one moment to the other.
Well, without any working concept of cause and effect, how could you understand how the universe carries state information from one moment to another? Objects exist in time.
Time is essential to General Relativity. There's an arrow of time in thermodynamics too. So time is built right into physics.
And since thermodynamics is statistical, it provides latitude for life to self-organize. Life increases in complexity at the cost of more disorder elsewhere.
At least that's my understanding, as over-simplified as it may be. You, on the other hand, seem to be playing dumb on these issues. I have a hard time understanding your respect for science, if you question so many of its observations.
(I wish Mathilda would comment on this discussion. She is articulate about thermodynamics.) @Mathilda
(January 15, 2019 at 9:26 pm)bennyboy Wrote: Does mind supervene on the brain as a whole, or is it intrinsic in some kind of unknown way to self-referential information over time, or is it that every interchange of energy in the Universe is also an essential atomic nano-conscious event?
Research has shown that while consciousness is dispersed throughout different modules of the brain, not all brain activity produces consciousness. That being the case, I would guess the answer is that not only is consciousness brain-dependent, it is dependent on specific aspects of the brain. Perhaps it's confined to the overarching control layers where the specific selective properties of consciousness are employed. You have to look at consciousness in terms of its evolutionary function. Since the operation of the brain is energy intensive, it only makes sense that consciousness is confined to where it has a function to perform.
(January 15, 2019 at 9:26 pm)bennyboy Wrote: I'd like to introduce an idea for discussion-- transcendence of supervenient properties, especially information. It seems to me that an .mp3 file, for example, while it is dependent on SOME medium or mechanism, has a life of its own. You could run Windows 10 on silicon based systems, or in a collection of abacuses manipulated by clever monkeys, and so long as your drivers crash for no reason and it insists on updating even though you keep telling it not to, it's still just Windows-- I'd say that Windows is transcendent of whatever mechanism it supervenes on.
You and I don't really speak the same language altogether. I will be reading more philosophy this year, but may not be able to follow your interests until later -- if at all. Perhaps you could tell me how this relates to the discussion.
