Consciousness as an emerging property?
I am obviously in fine company with lots of much brighter minds and spirits that would like to have answers to questions that sound like this: What is Consciousness? Where does it come from? And how does it relate to matter?
There are many angles to this question. Let's take the materialist view point: Matter is first, the universe is composed of atoms and sub-nuclear particles, etc and does actually materially exist in its own right. Matter matters. If there were no intelligent or conscious being around, there would still be matter. In fact, Consciousness is simply a side effect of matter, of chemical processes in our brain. In essence, it is an illusion, a fantasy, like watching a material movie that will happen anyways. Under this set of assumptions, Consciousness can actually arise if a system is sufficiently complex in its organization. Computers will evolve to this level and become artificially intelligent and conscious. They will develop feelings such as love, hate, they will be sad, disappointed and depressed. Whole system compounds, like the Internet, can reach Consciousness in that view (ok, very scary Kevin Kelly view). In this view, Consciousness is an *epiphenomenon of matter*. It can be detected in experiments and ultimately controlled and manipulated.
Another angle on mind and matter is that of Consciousness as an *emerging property of matter*. We can look at matter, the particles and atoms, as letters of the alphabet and words in sentences. If we just look at each letter, nothing special happens. If letters are put into words inside of sentences inside of a book which is written by Oscar Wilde, something happens. A property emerges (witty, funny, eloquent,etc.) that is not inside the letters themselves. Yet these letters transport these properties somehow on a completely different plane. We will never find a tiny piece of Wilde's eloquence in the letter A. In the same way, we will never find Consciousness in studying the brain matter. Or proposing the sould sits in the pineal gland, as Descartes would have it. We won't find it in the most tiny sub-atomic particles either. Looking for this all-explanatory "god particle" in particle accelerators isn't gonna work. Consciosuness is simply not part of matter, it emerges from it. When does it emerge? Well, when sufficient complexity or beauty is present in the matter. No god here giving you Consciousness or a Soul.
Im my opinion, quantum physics has shattered the material view point substantially. Wave-particle duality, the quantum probabilities, uncertainty principle, that whole train of thought. So if matter actually does not exist in a concrete form without a conscious observer, it also cannot be the root from which Consciousness emerges. This would bring Consciousness to the front of the line and have matter be an expression of whatever we consciously perceive. Nothing takes manifest form until someone observes it. Form constantly arises from the Unmanifest, the Infinite, or Emptiness as the Buddhist view would be. It is our joint, shared Consciousness that collapses the wave function. The manifest reality as a result of our joint mindworks - wild, hey? Mind over matter. Lots of interesting books and talks on this view point.
More to write on that one soon...
There are many angles to this question. Let's take the materialist view point: Matter is first, the universe is composed of atoms and sub-nuclear particles, etc and does actually materially exist in its own right. Matter matters. If there were no intelligent or conscious being around, there would still be matter. In fact, Consciousness is simply a side effect of matter, of chemical processes in our brain. In essence, it is an illusion, a fantasy, like watching a material movie that will happen anyways. Under this set of assumptions, Consciousness can actually arise if a system is sufficiently complex in its organization. Computers will evolve to this level and become artificially intelligent and conscious. They will develop feelings such as love, hate, they will be sad, disappointed and depressed. Whole system compounds, like the Internet, can reach Consciousness in that view (ok, very scary Kevin Kelly view). In this view, Consciousness is an *epiphenomenon of matter*. It can be detected in experiments and ultimately controlled and manipulated.
Another angle on mind and matter is that of Consciousness as an *emerging property of matter*. We can look at matter, the particles and atoms, as letters of the alphabet and words in sentences. If we just look at each letter, nothing special happens. If letters are put into words inside of sentences inside of a book which is written by Oscar Wilde, something happens. A property emerges (witty, funny, eloquent,etc.) that is not inside the letters themselves. Yet these letters transport these properties somehow on a completely different plane. We will never find a tiny piece of Wilde's eloquence in the letter A. In the same way, we will never find Consciousness in studying the brain matter. Or proposing the sould sits in the pineal gland, as Descartes would have it. We won't find it in the most tiny sub-atomic particles either. Looking for this all-explanatory "god particle" in particle accelerators isn't gonna work. Consciosuness is simply not part of matter, it emerges from it. When does it emerge? Well, when sufficient complexity or beauty is present in the matter. No god here giving you Consciousness or a Soul.
Im my opinion, quantum physics has shattered the material view point substantially. Wave-particle duality, the quantum probabilities, uncertainty principle, that whole train of thought. So if matter actually does not exist in a concrete form without a conscious observer, it also cannot be the root from which Consciousness emerges. This would bring Consciousness to the front of the line and have matter be an expression of whatever we consciously perceive. Nothing takes manifest form until someone observes it. Form constantly arises from the Unmanifest, the Infinite, or Emptiness as the Buddhist view would be. It is our joint, shared Consciousness that collapses the wave function. The manifest reality as a result of our joint mindworks - wild, hey? Mind over matter. Lots of interesting books and talks on this view point.
More to write on that one soon...
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