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I'm going to omit the rest because I differ in this point. We see the things in a different way from here. (Yes even the videos)
I don't understand what there is to "see differently" from what the videos are showing...they are videos of things which actually are. Could you be more specific as to what you mean by this?
The self is the subject of one's own experience of phenomena: perception, emotions, thoughts. In phenomenology, it is conceived as what experiences, and there isn't any experiencing without an experiencer, the self.
But I think the self is just a part of a biger system.
From my point of view we are not only our consciousness.
We are a system. A system is sum of his interrelated parts and not his individual parts.
And as a system we are a part of an even bigger system, not worth going into details.
I agree with you on this. I believe that everything in the universe is the result of a molecular chain reaction which began at the Big Bang, and led inevitably to the moments where we had this discussion.
We can find similarities in a computer system, the hard drive can be like a part of the brain where you keep you memories and the software and his data the consciousness of the system, one is palpable, the other is not palpable, but both exist and are indispensable parts of this system. You can think the sistem is just the software but the software alone can do nothing, the same with the hardware withouth the apropiate software even with an S.O, cannot complete the function we want, of course you can copy the Software or reproduce the hardware. But you need "the whole together" to have a functional system. (not necessarily the original hardware with the original software.)
I agree that everything is interconnected. The only possible different point of contention that I hold is that consciousness is ultimately the result of brain function.
- Without a brain you have no consciousness.
- Consciousness can be altered, and alteration of it can be measured objectively (i.e. via stroke studies, transcranial magnetic stimulation).
- Brain function has been so intensively studied that for a long time now we've had a map of different functional areas of the brain (Brodmann areas), and studies have piled up by the thousands about what these different function areas are doing.
If you go to this site, you can click on the different brain areas and get a listing of their functions as well as the studies that form the basis of the list.
I am not saying that the brain is the explanation for everything that happens consciously. I am just saying it is where it happens.
Kind of like a car driving. The wheels rotating by certain force is what causes that to happen. Those wheels could not turn without an engine, the engine could not function without the fossil fuels, the fossil fuels would not be present without the oil refineries, and the oil refineries would not exist if we didn't have massive reserves of fossil fuels to tap into. All of these things are tied together.
But the wheels turning is what causes the car to move, just as the brain's function is what causes consciousness. I am sorry if this was a poor example. What I am trying to do here is frame what I mean by the brain being the "seat of consciousness" while staying in terms of the interconnectedness of all things by using anology.
Let's imagine now.
We have a subject A, called tryptamine, a human male of X age etc...
we reproduce a completely functional copy of this human being, with completely artificial parts.
then we reproduce a completely functional copy of this human being, but this time with completely organic cloned parts.
After that we copy the data from the original Tryp into the new brains on the others two.
Now we have 3 tryptamines with the same consciousness and functionality, the most remarkable difference now, in that moment, is the manufacturer.The movie the 6th Day may explain better the idea.
When are more than one of you with the same consciousness and physical functions, the only what defines you, is the manufacturer and probably mileage and not the consciousness anymore.
Of course we can not fly today, but maybe tomorrow some wright brothers find the way.
Until now the consciousness is "unique" no more no less, but I doubt it will be all we are.
That's what I think.
All things are the result of cause-and-effect, we can think of causation as the "manufacturer" here. You are saying what consciousness is and does is an effect of causality. I agree completely. I'm just saying the brain is where cognition itself is happening.
Is a computer just the chips inside it?
I don't know, what keeps the brain cells active? Neurons are still material, just like muscle fibers. Nerves are all over inside our body, intertwined with every little piece of flesh and skin, and they are in fact parts of neurons. I read somewhere that we have neurons in our stomach and guts too. Conscience is more than neurons, it's energy. I think of myself as my soul.
