RE: Ego vs Awareness/consciousness
May 15, 2012 at 10:23 pm
(This post was last modified: May 15, 2012 at 10:24 pm by Whateverist.)
(May 15, 2012 at 6:54 pm)robsenelstun Wrote: If by subjective reality steve meant to infer that if not for the subjective consciousness objective reality would not exist, as if subjective consciousness somehow conjures up external referents out of thin air, then I must disagree...vehemently!
Simplistically I believe we first need a working brain, and then it requires external referents to interact with to enable any consciousness whatsoever to manifest at all, and only as a consequence of this and many prior physical interactions can what seems post hoc to be a subjective experience, to manifest in the material substance which is our brain, as consciousness.
In my view consciousness is 100%, as in absolutely only...brain activity. No woo woo, no ethereal arial connection to ohm humming tortoise reincarnations, just boring old brain activity. I say boring, but it really is more beautiful than all that.
I must boringly agree with you. Consciousness is a fascinating phenomenon, but it is really just a biological process of brains. It is not a 'world unto itself', and, 'external referents' do not owe their existence to being perceived by consciousness.
What makes it a slippery subject to study is that we can all critique any account given of consciousness by way of our direct experience of it. An adequate general account must not only predict lab results but also make sense of the wide variety of experiences that we all have.
Interesting stuff but there is no need to jump to magical explanations if neural science is unable to deliver an adequate general account of consciousness in our life times. It's funny how those who do jump to magical accounts will tout the certainty they enjoy over the uncertainty of those who wait for a natural account. As if undeserved certainty was ever a valid argument for anything.
