Consciousness

I am having a discussion with Harte on The Theory Of Everything thread and thought I should repost this bit here also.

Harte, Thanks for clarifying this on the T.O.E. being for subfields of Physics.
I've found a good article on quantum biology, that includes the quantum side of consciousness.
I may just get to sneak my metaphysics pack into the BIG TOE through the back door.
Here are a couple clips to introduce the subject matter.
I hope you enjoy reading it.

Remarkably, photosynthesis appears to derive its ferocious efficiency not from the familiar physical laws that govern the visible world, but from the seemingly exotic rules of quantum mechanics, the physics of the subatomic world. Somehow, in every green plant or photosynthetic bacterium, the two disparate realms of physics not only meet but mesh harmoniously. Welcome to the strange new world of quantum biology.

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/fe...-your-thoughts/article_view?b_start:int=1&-C=

QUANTUM TO THE CORE
Stuart Hameroff, an anesthesiologist and director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona, argues that the highest function of life—consciousness—is likely a quantum phenomenon too. This is illustrated, he says, through anesthetics. The brain of a patient under anesthesia continues to operate actively, but without a conscious mind at work. What enables anesthetics such as xenon or isoflurane gas to switch off the conscious mind?

Hameroff speculates that anesthetics “interrupt a delicate quantum process” within the neurons of the brain. Each neuron contains hundreds of long, cylindrical protein structures, called microtubules, that serve as scaffolding. Anesthetics, Hameroff says, dissolve inside tiny oily regions of the microtubules, affecting how some electrons inside these regions behave.

He speculates that the action unfolds like this: When certain key electrons are in one “place,” call it to the “left,” part of the microtubule is squashed; when the electrons fall to the “right,” the section is elongated. But the laws of quantum mechanics allow for electrons to be both “left” and “right” at the same time, and thus for the micro­tubules to be both elongated and squashed at once. Each section of the constantly shifting system has an impact on other sections, potentially via quantum entanglement, leading to a dynamic quantum-mechanical dance.

It is in this faster-than-light subatomic communication, Hameroff says, that consciousness is born. Anesthetics get in the way of the dancing electrons and stop the gyration at its quantum-mechanical core; that is how they are able to switch consciousness off.

It is still a long way from Hameroff’s hypo­thetical (and experimentally unproven) quantum neurons to a sentient, conscious human brain. But many human experiences, Hameroff says, from dreams to subconscious emotions to fuzzy memory, seem closer to the Alice in Wonderland rules governing the quantum world than to the cut-and-dried reality that classical physics suggests. Discovering a quantum portal within every neuron in your head might be the ultimate trip through the looking glass.

Christ Consciousness - a concept of spiritual trancendance and awareness with the prime creator or source. Also a higher awareness of being. Spiritual enlightenment, a spiritual union, and Divinity. Also related to as objective consciousness or cosmic consciousness.

Never comes across that term, so thanks for sharing and now I can say I learned something today I didn't know before I went to bed. Again, thanks.

Your welcome check your messenger.

Donny the Dog Genius

Donny takes his toys and arranges them in geometrical patterns, different combinations and alignments.
Does he do this consciously or not?

I am a great believer in animals having consciousness, reasoning/learning abilities and emotions.
If you have ever had a dog, I'm sure there was some level of communication between the two of you.

One last side note:
Have you ever wondered why man's best friend doesn't talk?
If you don't know, just ask your wife/girlfriend.

Good video Jon.
My video above appears to be not working.
Here is a valid link.

Just stopped by to see what, if anything new had been posted since I was last here. Interesting material.

Perhaps one of the most famous smart animals was Alex the African Gray Parrot.


Related story:
http://www.123compute.net/dreaming/knocking/alex.html
I can't say these animals have consciousness but there is certainly something extra going on in these exceptional cases.
There is no scientific basis for my following statement. It is just a fanciful comparison but I would "guesstimate" that what Alex is accomplishing with a walnut sized brain would be the equivalent to a human having total recall of the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. Just as we have Mathematical or Musical Savants in humans, perhaps there are savants among other species?

Koko the gorilla has more than 1,000 signs. She watches TV and does not watch the sad parts. Then she explains why. She has also learned to lie.

http://www.koko.org/world/kokoflix.php?date=2011-06-18

Learning to communicate with people has to involve some sort of consciousness. There are different types of consciousness. Take the dolphins. They talk to each other, work together to catch fish in a more efficient way, assist humans in trouble etc. Even octopus' can figure out how to solve problems and learn by watching others.

On the Savant comment. Having a Savant wound mean that others are not so skillful. I just can't visualize having a genius and all others being complete idiots. Statistically, that would be an unacceptable distribution. So, between the genius and the complete idiot, we would have a range of skill levels. This would form a standard distribution Bell curve. However, the average could be very low and our Savants out at the extreme low probability portion of the curve. But, I do still feel that animals are conscious, but at different levels and suited to there needs.

Here are some different perspectives on consciousness.

http://www.novaspivack.com/uncategorized/consciousness-is-not-a-computation-2

There are numerous arguments for why consciousness may be fundamental. Here I will summarize a few of my favorites:

• Physics and Cosmology. First of all there is evidence in physics, such as the double slit experiment, that indicates there may be a fundamental causal connection between the act of consciously observing something and what is actually observed. Observation seems to be intimately connected to what the universe does, to what is actually measured. It is as if the act of observation — of measurement — actually causes the universe to make choices that collapse possibilities into specific outcomes. This implies that consciousness may be connected to the fundamental physical laws and the very nature of the universe. Taken to the extreme there are even physical theories, such as the anthropic principle, that postulate that the whole point of the universe, and all the physical laws, is consciousness.
• Simulation. Another approach to analyzing consciousness is to attempt to simulate, or synthesize consciousness with software, where one quickly ends up in either an infinite regress or a system that is not conscious of its own consciousness. Trying to build a conscious machine, even in principle, is very instructive and everyone who is seriously interested in this subject should attempt it until they are convinced it is not possible. In particular self-awareness, the consciousness of consciousness, is hard to model. Nobody has succeeded in designing a conscious machine so far. Nobody has even succeeded in designing a non-conscious machine that can fool a conscious being into thinking it is a conscious being. Try it. I dare you. I tried many times and in end I came to the conclusion that consciousness, and in particular self-consciousness, lead to infinite regresses that computers are not capable of resolving in finite time.
• Neuroscience. Another approach is to try to locate consciousness in the physical brain, the body, or anywhere in the physical world – nobody has yet found it. Consciousness may have correlates in the brain, but they are not equivalent to consciousness. John Searle and others have written extensively about this issue. Why do we even have brains then? Are they the source of consciousness, or are they more like electrical circuits that merely channel it without originating it, or are brains the source of memory and cognition, but not consciousness itself? There are many possibilities and we’re only at the beginning of understanding the mind-brain connection. However so far, after centuries of dissecting the brain, and mapping it, and measuring it in all kinds of ways, no consciousness has been found inside it.
• Direct Introspection. One approach is through direct experience: search for an origin of knowing, by observing your own consciousness directly, with your own consciousness. No origin is found. There is no homunculus in the back of our minds that we can identify. In fact, when you search, even mere consciousness is not found, let alone its source. The more we look the more it dissolves. Consciousness is a word we use, but when we look for it we can’t find what it refers to. But that doesn’t mean consciousness isn’t a real phenomenon, or that it is an illusion. It is undeniable that we are aware of things, including of the experience of being conscious. It is unfindable, yet it is not a mere nothingness either – there is definitely some kind of awareness or consciousness taking place that is in fact the very essence of our minds. The nature of consciousness exemplifies the Buddhist concept of the “emptiness” in a manner that we can easily and directly experience for ourselves. But note that “empty” in this sense doesn’t mean nothingness, or non-existence, it means that it exists in a manner that transcends being either something or nothing. From the Buddhist perspective, although consciousness cannot be found, it is in fact the ultimate nature of reality, from which everything else appears.
• Logic. Another approach is logical: Recognize that all experience is mediated by consciousness — all measurements, all science, all our own personal experience, all our collective experiences. Nothing ever happens or is known by us without first being mediated by consciousness. Thus consciousness is more fundamental than anything we know of, it is the most fundamental experience, even more fundamental than the experience of space and time, or our measurements thereof. From this perspective we cannot honestly say that anything ever can exist apart from consciousness, from someone or something knowing it. In fact, it would appear that everything depends on consciousness to be known, and possibly to exist, because we have no way to establish that anything exists apart from consciousness. Based on the evidence we have, consciousness is therefore fundamental. The universe appears to be in consciousness not vice-versa: This is in fact a more logical and more scientific conclusion than the standard belief that consciousness is an emergent property of the brain, or that it is a separate phenomenon from appearances. In the extreme, this investigation leads to a philosophical view called solipsism.
• Unusual experiences. Yet another approach is to observe consciousness under unusual or extreme conditions such as during dreaming, lucid dreaming, religious experiences, peak experiences, when under the influence of mind-altering drugs, or in numerous well-documented cases of apparent reincarnation, and well-documented near-death experiences. In such cases there is a wealth of both direct and anecdotal evidence suggestive of the idea that consciousness is able to transcend the limits of the body, as well as space and time. Whether you believe such evidence is valid is up to you, however there is an increasing body of careful studies on these topics that are indicative that there is a lot more to consciousness than our day-to-day waking state.

Isn't it fairly well accepted at this point that other species have the capacity to exhibit self-aware behavior?

I'd be more interested in seeing evidence that they're just conditioned to respond to specific stimuli, since references in favor of the positive are pretty abundant.