Medieval philosophy simply won’t do anymore.

 Descartes’, “I THINK THEREFORE I AM” might be the most profound sentence written.

It is a quintessential crystalized conception regarding our human condition, our psychology and our introspective human mind — but, it has zero to do with the physical biological world that we are embedded within, that created our body/brain, which in turn produces our mind full of thoughts.

Think about it, Descartes lived and died before real sciences existed! Descartes and his philosophy is embedded within the theological world dominated by the Catholic Empire, which he bowed to.

Today, David Chalmers is a genius professor of that intellectual tradition. A tradition that can’t seem to see past the bubble of our human mind. Chalmers and supporters insist that biology will never bridge the gap between matter and thought, at least not without admitting some metaphysical something.

For support of their Hard Problem belief, they have beautiful arguments with opinions and words piled on top of words, insisting the gap between matter and thinking cannot possibly be found upon 100% pure physical biological, scientific evidence, it requires …, well it requires something extra, they insist.

Then they look for consciousness within the brain and neurons, without explicitly recognizing that our introspective mind is but the extreme end of the consciousness spectrum.

  

Human introspective consciousness would be impossible without the support and substance of all those older lower layers of consciousness, that permeate our body, but that we aren’t directly aware of.

Serious science has been busy learning about these revelations and sharing with all who are curious.

We live in a new world reality, scientists have evidence mitochondria communicate and coordinate with each other — and they are within each cell! Intercellular awareness and communication is also a documented thing. Research into independent single celled creatures, are recording the same behaviors being documented in complex animals.

There has been a paradigm shift in biological sciences that smashes through all those quaint medieval Ego-driven notions of human exceptionalism, that theological and philosophical thinking are built upon.

Physical science has even unraveled the mystery of “Vitalism” and it isn’t sprinkled down upon Earth by God or anything else. It turns out to be a product of Earth herself!

“Vitalism” was invented over four billion years ago by chemistry, in partnership with Earth, time, and it is found in the Krebs cycle, where quite literally, geology and chemistry figured out how to harness electricity, thereby inventing biology. That is what life sprang from.

For details, read Nick Lane’s Transformer and his previous books. Further sources shared at the end.All of this requires a modern philosophy brave enough to blast through the entrenched faith based platitudes. Learning to vocally grapple with our Human Mind ~ Physical Reality divide, and to begin appreciating all that unfolds from that recognition.

Within our body, each of us possesses a genetic heritage going back over half a billion years. Our body is the product of all those untold successful generations piling one on top of the previous one, living, learning, surviving one day at a time, leaving offspring behind to take up the gauntlet. As they, in turn, turn heritage into legacy.

The science is making it clear that the best way to understand consciousness is as the inside reflection of our body communicating with itself.

When are those realities going to start getting enthusiastically discussed within philosophical circles?

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Here’s an introductory scientist author’s list

Robert Hazen: Mineral evolution on Earth, preparing the ground for biology

Nick Lane: Geology and chemistry harnesses electricity to create biology.

     Writer of the most excellent summary of “SELF”

Jack Szostak: The Early Earth and the Origins of Cellular Life

Michael Russell: On the Emergence of Life Through “Negative” Entropy Trapping

Arthur Reber: The “Cellular Basis of Consciousness” proposal — CBC

Michael Levin: Bioelectricity in development and regeneration, exploring cellular cognition.

Biology together with time, and chemistry and geology, that is Earth’s processes created creatures and environments and competition, in short, evolution.

Pageant of Earth’s Evolution, Index of noteworthy YouTube videos

Mark Solms — Regarding the Source of Consciousness

Antonio Damasio — Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain

Robert Sapolsky — Behavioral Biology with a Primatology background 

Honorable mention, author David Quammen’s The Tangled Tree of Life, a front and center history of the ‘70’s genetics revolution, that ushered in this golden age of biology.

These are some of the leading lights, though I never forget they require the support of thousands to help this work move forward.

 

Further reflections, Considering Things Science Can Explain About Consciousness

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What is the Self?

 

Let’s be honest with ourselves and start at the beginning.

For us and many other animals it starts with a unique egg and sperm and not so much a plan as an imperative.

Grow, survive, prosper.

The imperative within me came out of the momentum of half a billion years’ worth of 100% successful generations building upon each preceding generation. Always learning and refining.

“Self” begins with your biology interacting with the physical world around us. Senses + body + brain, constantly interacting with the real world, exterior and interior.

Let’s be realistic, how could any creature possibly feel like anything other than what it is? How can any creature not feel itself, since itself, and its own needs, are all that it knows?

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Can Other Things Be Conscious?

Panpsychism makes no sense.

What is the point of consciousness, when there aren’t any decisions to be made? Which is the case out in the cosmic realm of particles and energy and gravity.

Why On Earth Are You Even Aware?

This is condensed out of my previous exposition.

Blame it on Evolution.

If one is not aware, one gets eaten and never makes babies.

Think about this — you exist within an evolved incarnation of a body/brain that has gone through some half a billion years worth of development, each new generation building upon the previous one. Not one single miss during all that time, or you would not be here.

It gets wilder, the cells that make up your body — their history goes back over four billion years’ worth of successful reproductive cycles — all within a harsh and unforgiving biosphere. (see Nick Lane)

Awareness was required for single cells to succeed, even before the eukaryotic cells took it to a whole new level with their nucleus, organelles and complex insides. Science shows us that awareness, drifting into consciousness was one of biology’s first hurdles on the way to creating life. (see Arthur Reber)

Even single celled creatures require awareness, communication, command and control, along with a vessel to navigate.

The rest is Evolution.

This Pageant of Evolution forces us to realize our body started as something very simple. With each generation modeled by the trials and tribulations dished out during its, one day at a time, life cycle, before getting passed along to the next generation. Always building upon what was there before. Striving to do better.

Considering Things Science Can Explain About Consciousness.

"Without deeply, personally appreciating the Pageant of Evolution, trying to ask, and answer, these deep existential questions is like playing basketball in zero gravity."

"Dr. Mark Solms makes it clear: … Modern science shows us that our mind is best understood as “a reflection of your body communicating with itself.” "

"Consider that momentous invention some four billion years ago of the Krebs cycle. Here on Earth, when geology and chemistry learned how to harness electricity, thereby giving birth to this Krebs cycle, which in turn gave birth to biology. There you’ll find the difference between a rock and living creature." 

Introduction

A scientific approach to understanding your “Self” - Nick Lane PhD. A Students Resource.

(I'm happy to report that I have exchanged emails with Nick Lane, and he gives me a supportive thumbs up for this effort.)

Here Dr. Nick Lane describes the source; where the metaphorical spark; that starts the cascade; that makes us, us; is to be found.

I share extensive quotes from Dr. Nick Lane’s recent book Transformer, specifically its epilogue, “Self” — which seems to me the best street level summary of current scientific understanding regarding our physical body, as the ultimate source of our thoughts and feelings, in short our mind & soul.

Why do I believe this is important? Because, Evolution and biological realities receive too much hollow lip service, and too little detailed attention.  Philosophers tend to keep it within the bubble of their thoughts.  Seemingly valuing dialogue more than getting into the weeds of evolutionary biology to find out what nature & evolution has to teach us about the source of consciousness.

What follows is offered as food for thought.  An invitation to explore Nick Lane’s report.  To gain a deeper understanding of how the interaction between body, brain, and life itself gives rise to our consciousness — and while all the details aren’t filled in, an internally consistent outline is becoming clear enough — backed by the consilience of scientific evidence.  We should start taking it seriously.

As Dr. Solms points out elsewhere: the best way to understand consciousness is, as a reflection of our body/brain communicating with itself.   This is my puny challenge to philosophy departments to take notice, and start formulating better, more relevant questions regarding our human condition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Professor Nick Lane PhD writes in his epilogue to the book “Transformer”

I claim fair use, to justify this reprinting and sharing

¶1  “ ‘I think therefore I am’ said Descartes, in one of the most celebrated lines ever written. But what am I, exactly? … What is a quantum of solace?”

¶2  “In this book, we’ve explored the dynamic side of biochemistry, the continuous flow of energy and matter that makes us alive. …”

Striving to Understand Consciousness. (with a little help from Nick Lane)

Exploring how science is unraveling philosophy’s eccentric Hard Problem, with some help from Professor Nick Lane. 

David Chalmers leads philosophers who claim scientists, (that is people dedicated to studying physical reality), will never figure out how biological processes can produce subjective experience without adapting some woo.

Then they go on to talk about studying “consciousness” by focusing on neurons and the brain. While the body gets lost like some kind of externality, an irrelevance to minimize and avoid.

Now please consider for a moment, your brain is intimately connected down to every cubic millimeter of your body. Your living body is about a nonstop exchange of information and resources between itself and the outside world. (Same as all other animals, down to single celled creatures.)

It is your body that experiences the bike ride, it is your mouth, nose, fingers, etc. who are experiencing the food being eaten, same with the child or lover being touched — it is not your brain.

Everything your brain has to work with, must be processed and communicated via our individual living body, (with its unique perceptual filters — product of nature via nurture.)

Nick Lane uses the metaphor of our body’s biology and organs, as a full set of orchestra instruments, the physical biology scientists have been studying. Nick suggests it’s time to listen to the music they make. The bioelectrical rhythms and fluctuating fields that convey what those biological instruments are performing.

The brain? That’s the conductor, and the music that’s the thoughts and feeling surging through our bodies. At the end of this article I’ve added a 266 word quote from Dr. Lane, who does a superb job of conveying the concept.

Cellular Basis Consciousness #2 Reber's Q/A - Student's Resource, transcript of highlights.

Prof. Reber's insightful Cellular Basis of Consciousness presents a key understanding regarding the actual physical facts surrounding the origins of our human consciousness.  Metaphysics-enthusiasts will sniff & resent & ignore til the cows come home.  Still, here it is.  The answers are in Evolution!   

If you "believe" in Science., you'll want to learn about Prof Reber's suggestions.

Professor Arthur Reber's Question and Answer Session

The “Cellular Basis of Consciousness (CBC)”

Reber’s 2018, Institut des sciences cognitives - UQAM presentation.

{Part one, visit The "Cellular Basis of Consciousness" proposal - A Student's Introduction to Dr. Arthur Reber's CBC}

A challenging audience, Professor Arthur Reber rises to the occasion.

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I’m posting this transcript of highlights from Professor Reber's talk, because I’m stunned at how little attention Reber’s "Cellular Basis of Consciousness" conception has received since Reber started sharing this with the academic community over seven years ago. 

I believe the profoundly insightful Cellular Basis of Consciousness holds the key to understanding the actual physical facts regarding the source of our human consciousness.