All humans believe "I am this body-mind-intellect". The 'body-mind-intellect' (BMI) is seat of great joys: food, music, literature, touch etc. etc. But eventually the "BMI" is poison, without exception. Cancer, pain, desolation, break-up, death, .........
Vedanta identified this as due to mis-identification of conscious subject, the self (I) with insentient (BMI) -- like a cinema watcher affected by misfortune of screen characters. Vedanta teaches us the way to disentangle the "I" (the subject) from the "BMI" (object).
This thread was created to introduce that concept. But, if the thread leads to ego arguments, the whole purpose is defeated. So, I said that I wish no argument. Yet, I realise that many of the unending arguments stem from differences in understanding of the terms used.
In Vedantic understanding, consciousness is not that which is manifest in mind. But consciousness (
prajnana) is that which precedes the knowing, that which is the competence of knowing/discerning. According to Vedanta, this competence is the root of existence. It differs from the materialistic thinking. but that should not lead to ego arguments. if one finds anything of benefit, one is welcome to participate. If another disagrees let him disagree. No problem. The truth does not get affected. Bad words, however, create bad atmosphere. We can surely avoid that.
I created a small note to clarify the basics.
Consciousness and Mind according to Vedanta
What precedes knowing/knowledge is unknowing/ignorance. Competence has two meanings. One is a degree of efficiency, and the other is having a large enough income to live on. Are you equivocating the meaning of competence, to mean how efficient we are at knowing/discerning things? Or, are you implying that it has some emerging property? Are newborns more/less competent then teens or adults? Do our sense organs become more/less competent as we age? I think that it is you that is being insentient, if you believe that "competence" is also the root of existence. This again is ambiguous, since you never include or demonstrate how. Our emotions, sense of awareness, consciousness(up to 8 layers), instincts, genetic programming, and our unique individual behavior, are all part of the human condition. The activities in the physical brain can be easily studied, manipulated, controlled, observed(EEG, fMRI, PET, SPECT, NIRS, etc.), measured, and even replicated. We are learning more about the workings of the brain each year.
I don't have a problem with you personally. You simply represent a group of people who are looking for metaphysical explanations, that represents anything that is greater than the sum of its parts. Anything that will support your confirmation bias or presupposition. You believe that after all the neurotransmitters have hit their receptors and all the neurons have fired, that there must bel something else left out in explaining consciousness. You are a "duelist", and believe that there is a separation between the mind and the brain(body). You believe that all the whirling electrons and photons cannot explain why a certain neuronal configuration can result in our seeing blue rather than red. You need to create self-serving terms like "soul", "I am", "Universal consciousness", "Intelligent Design", "BMI", "Insentience", and "Creator", to conclude that consciousness cannot be fully explained. You are not interested in the actual research, dysfunctions, diseases, observations, or how the functioning brain is being tested. You are not interested in any role memory plays in consciousness, or how it acquires new knowledge. Nor are you interested in how the Endocrine glands, the Hippocampus, the Amygdala, the Thalami, the Limbic system, the genes, or the plasticity of the brain, can effect consciousness.
Consciousness is nothing more than the ability of our
brain to acquire information. Including the content of that information, and the efficiency of its ability to get the information into and out of its
memory. All this is very important. Since it means that everything we are conscious of, is totally dependent on the quality of information the brain receives and interprets, from its receptors. This can be easily tested, and can demonstrate just how easily the conscious mind can be fooled. This, and physics, also rules out any paranormal or supernatural activities. I believe that a functioning brain is identical to a conscious mind. A functioning brain can exist without a conscious mind, but a conscious mind can't exist without a functioning brain.This makes me a materialist and not a dualist. If you believe that consciousness cannot be solely explained as a function of the brain, then what is it? And, where is it? Maybe you can also tell me if there is a physical difference between consciousness, intentionality, free-will, and a mental representation? Who am I? I am the sum total of the expression of my genes, and the positive and negative reinforcements created by my family, my society and my culture. I have no "free will" before and action(tested), but I have "free won't" to not complete the action(other that reflex).
Since you appear to not answer any of my questions, you are only proselytizing/preaching your particular beliefs. You are not interested in any rational dialogue, unless you impose conditions. This again is not allowed on this forum. Debate threads are not simply "your way, or the highway". I can provide evidence that can suggest what consciousness is. This will be based on inductive and deductive reasoning, examples, logic, intuition, observations, predictions, and consistency. You simply deposit a language puzzle, floating in a soup of equivocated terms. Except in this puzzle, all pieces will always fit. If they don't, you just invent a new term to make them fit. This is not science, it is belief.
