consciousness

Most explanations I have read regarding the feeling of the mind existing outside the body have not been completely satisfactory to me. I wanted to seek an explanation that is not only consistent with how we "feel" about our consciousness, but is still compatible with a scientific attitude. So...

.....and why he doesn't believe in it. Also the theological implications of 'uploading' and why he isn't a libertarian. Here. Very active comments section.

We are immortal: here is the argument 1. We are apart of the universe that created us. We did not ask to be born. We are not in any way responsible for our creation. It just happened. The universe around us created us out of itself. created us out of matter and or energy. 2. The universe...

Daniel Dennet's model of consciousness also explains how SEO works on Google, and more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGF9NbPFfRo

I was thinking about this the other day when I drove almost all the way to work without having any "I" pop into my head. And I realized that I often spend lengthy amounts of time without an "I." When I am speaking with someone, for example, and actually listening to what they are saying, there...

After reading Michael Crichton's novel, Prey, I've become fascinated with the concept of 'emergence'. I’m sure some of you have read it. Some common examples of emergence include: The swarming of bees (or any swarming organism for that matter): which appears to create a somewhat ‘conscious’...

A debate on the nature of reality, consciousness and modern science. Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine, Leonard Mlodinow the theoretical physicist and Deepak Chopra the Quantum Woo Master are among the 10 people on the interdisciplinary panel. 7WA76VTq3O8 Download Free Podcast through iTunes...

I’ve just started Thomas Metzinger’s ‘Being No-One’, having been guided there by Peter Watts’ intriguing description of agnosia and other odd states of mind in his SF novel ‘Blindsight’. I don’t intuitively agree with the conclusions stated in the blurb (I’m pretty convinced of the...

This thread is intended to discuss consciousness from the point of view of biological studies on the brain. It's open to posting of research on the brain, and discussion of that research. Because threads on consciousness tend to get derailed into debates about AI, I feel I must say a couple of...

My argument against materialism (=matter is all that primarily exists, everything else are configurations thereof) is really simple: 1. All empirical observations are dependent upon consciousness. 2. Materialism claims that there is something independent of consciousness (matter). 3...

I am the first in the world who wrote a link between science and spirituality. The most important question: Who am I? I found the answer: I am a WAVE and the wave function is: |ψ> = c1|Φ1> + c2|Φ2> + c3|Φ3> + c4|Φ4> + c5|Φ5> + c6|Φ6> + c7|Φ7> are 7 states |Φi > because are 7 major chakras or...

In recent threads it has been claimed that a computer simulation which operated, accurately, at the planck level, would be effectively equivalent to reality. The (unstated) implication seems to be that at this level, the universe operates like a huge grid, with pieces moving back and forth like...

This is a thought I came up with, but I'd be surprised if no one else has come up with it in the past. So I apologize if I'm passing off something old as something new. Premises: -Humans can be thought of as carbon based machines (in that with adequate resources and knowledge a human could be...

My next, and I promise the last, in my series of Theism's best case. Again, this is from Blackwell's Companion to Natural Theology and it is called the "Argument from Consciousness", by JP Moreland. For some reason I had expected to be more challenged by this argument. There are a lot of...

First off, I have got to properly introduce myself as I have been a lurker here for a very long time and I have learned much from a lot of the posters on here, but yes I have finally gotten around to actually registering lol. My favorite threads to read on this forum have definitely been about...

Suppose the teletransporter (TTP) is altered so that the teleportation takes place slowly, over time, as such: 1) There is an identical body at the destination, that is in stasis "slave" mode. For every neuron at the source, Ns(n), there is an identical neuron at the destination, Nd(n). 2) At...

As far as I can tell, the primary objection to using the TTP (teletransporter) is that people feel there is some continuous connection between past, present, and future within their consciousness and that a discontinuity in material substrate somehow breaks that connection. I agree that there...

Rather than sidetrack the thread on JW I thought I'd start a new thread. SOdhner wrote: I responded with: SOdhner responded: If I made 10 copies of myself and then each went off having different experiences then you have 1 seayakin person then suddenly 10 different seayakins so that...

Split from the thread - is free will an illusion, yet necessary for ethics. I would like a discussion, evidence for/against, suggested reading etc on whether free will is physically possible. Is the brain capable of producing a choice that isn't predetermined? To give some context - I'm not...

Another question from Ghost in the Shell :) In a discussion between the Tachikomas, one suggests that the internet loosely forms a consciousness. Another notes the implications this would entail with regard to the mind/body problem; that the internet itself is growing "mind" generated by humans...

Can awareness, consciousness, thought effect matter? 1) matter inside your body 2) matter outside your body or only matter can effect matter regarless of inside our outside your body.

I need some help understanding the idea that consciousness could be thermodynamically acausal. Check out this video of Gerald Edelman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp3LEGcHsPo At 4:38 he talks about consciousness being a process and thus thermodynamically acausal, an epiphenomenon. He places...

LFFMtq5g8N4& Here's the info: Once again, I have no detailed knowledge of how things really work. But here are my thoughts, I would appreciate a more detailed analysis from someone more familiar w/ brains and EEG machines. I know many meditation practices focus on getting your mind out of...

"Intelligence is Self Teaching" A paranormal experience into A.I and Intelligence. This link is found on the front page of Reddit/Science. http://www.realitysandwich.com/intelligence_self_teaching The article is a personal account of an experience on Ayahuasca, where the purported 'spirit' of...

A big sticking point in all of our threads on consciousness has been the "rate" at which thoughts occur, or the "speed" an entity thinks. In particular, many individuals have expressed the sentiment that they might not consider an entity thinking orders of magnitude slower than humans to be...

Anyone have any thoughts on this item, involving communication with patients in vegetative state? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8497148.stm

I'm about two thirds through Anathem, by Neal Stephenson. It is a well-written story that attempts to cover many of the issues of science, philosophy and religion dealt with in threads on this forum. If you enjoy stories where people have obscure arguments for page after page (I do) then it's...

I just finished reading a text titled The Consciousness Revolution authored by Ervin Laszlo, Stanislav Grof, and Peter Russell. The book, ‘The Consciousness Revolution’ is an essential guide to how our map of reality is changing in the midst of the global transformation going on in all parts of...

I am making this thread because for years people have been arguing about the origins of consciousness and I haven't yet seen someone go into much detail about exactly how it might occur. I mean, the computational model proponents are clear about consciousness being a form of "self referential...

I am aware that there are many individuals emotionally invested in the notion that strong AI is false. I can understand why -- the idea that our consciousness has some magical component that is beyond the boring and cold scientifically understood world is one that can be tempting. But there...