"Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain" by philosopher Patricia Churchland

[The Grand Nudger]

Right. So if you happened upon "Penny Lane" arranged in black and white seashells on a beach, you wouldn't even know, unless you were aware of some kind of decoding algorithm.

-or, you'd interpret such "information" (if you were aware of it at all-of course), as something altogether different from "Penny Lane". Say, as, a crabs shopping list. Just trying to cover some options not mentioned.

However, the specific mechanics of the information are separate from the information itself. You could rearrange your seashells into a Shakespeare book if you wanted to.

The mechanics of how that information might be transmitted has a profound effect on that information - as above.

The point is that it may be the flow of information, which is relatively abstract, that may be responsible for consciousness of self, not the specific material structure of the brain.

Then we would be at a loss as to why the earth itself does not appear to have a "mind" - as much more information "flows" on the earth as a whole than will ever cross between our ears, wouldn;t you agree?

As soon as that information processing stops, for example if someone's in a coma, then the sense of self disappears, too.

You mean, as soon as the mechanics cease to be in place? Precisely.

The alternative is that there is something magical about a specific arrangement of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen that allows sentience to flicker into existence. That idea seems pretty strange to me.

The only way magic enters in is if you drop it in. Is there anything magical about flight? Specific arrangements of matter can have very dramatic effects. What's strange about that, specifically?