Consciousness

[nailit]

Sure that this has been asked loads of times (and even possibly by me) but for the scientists on here...
can you please explain how matter can have a conscious awareness??
How can a lump of rock or grain of sand not have self awareness yet a bit of pink stuff squashed into the skull of a human can?

Has science yet got any idea about what consciousness actually is?

[jim360]

Dunno, Don't know, and No. :P

[david small]

I would need a fair bit of alcohol to attempt an answer to that one nailit.

[nailit]

Ah well!
I'll get my head down now and become unconscious for a while, and then become conscious again and wonder why I am conscious before becoming unconscious again.

[david small]

Sleep well nails...

[nailit]

Thanks david ;-)

[KARL]

If you consider conscious animals as biological machines made up of a collection of systems which are in a mutually dependent co-existence then that may go some way toward explaining the difference between rocks, sand etc. and conscious machines. The machine needs a system which has at least some overview of its place in relation to its surroundings as opposed to simply reacting passively to its constraints when pursuing nourishment, growth and procreation. That system is consciousness.

[jim360]

I was reading over the threads linked below where you asked this before. As far as I know, the position hasn't changed much in four years. Consciousness is likely to stem from the way the brain works, but we've barely begun exploring it properly.

[hazydaisy]

Nailit
You are important
A living being capable of rational thought, movement, communication and procreation
You do not need science to define you
Enjoy your existence and do the best that you can for others who doubt themselves

[Old_Geezer]

It's an emergent property from all the complex interconnections and electrical/chemical activity. I doubt that we have a good handle on such complex issues yet. But just wait until AI becomes sentient and it'll explain it to you.

[Old_Geezer]

In the meanwhile, God makes it happen.

[nailit]

//Consciousness is likely to stem from the way the brain works//

//It's an emergent property from all the complex interconnections and electrical/chemical activity//

Both the above statements are conjecture.
This idea that consciousness is a product of a lump of meat that is situated between the ears has long both fascinated and perplexed me.
A sperm cell has no brain but seems to 'know' what its function is (finding and penetrating an ovum) therefore having a form of consciousness in itself. Same sort of thing with bacteria, amoebas etc.
Ive seen plenty of vids that would suggest that everything in the universe has a consciousness of sorts. Might sound a bit esoteric/metaphysical but why does science seem to associate consciousness solely with having a brain?

[jim360]

I think it's partly because humans have a tendency to impose conscious thought without appreciating the underlying structure. Taking bacteria as an example, they mostly "just" involve chemical reactions designed to convert food into energy, and therefore into more bacteria. There's no reason to assume or to project consciousness onto this process: it's almost required by the nature of chemical reactions. I'm not saying that bacteria are merely the equivalent of, say, acids and alkalines reacting to create salt, but they are similar enough.

I think in the same way, to give sperm consciousness is misleading. They are driven to the egg by just wriggling around until they find it (and, if they end up in the wrong place for whatever reason (*winks suggestively*), I doubt they are aware of that!), and when they find it the fertilisation process is driven by another chemical reaction.

What makes actual consciousness different? I have no idea. But it's still important to be careful to distinguish order deriving from, say, physical equations and chemical principles, from bona fide consciousness.

[nailit]

Thank you for quick reply Jim,
might take me a while to digest what you just said...Im no scientist as you know...but subjects like this fascinate me.

[Old_Geezer]

Conjecture, but with little in the way of a serious rival explanation.

[Old_Geezer]

I doubt sperm knows anything. It's too simple, it just reacts in a certain way to it's environment, and those that get it 'right' create another generation able to create similar (eventually).

[nailit]

//I doubt sperm knows anything. It's too simple, it just reacts in a certain way to it's environment, and those that get it 'right' create another generation able to create similar (eventually)//

Not much different from humans then O-G?

[Old_Geezer]

Some of 'em

[mibn2cweus]

I define consciousness as the process by which sentient beings acquire an awareness of the reality they exist in for the purpose of continued survival and to promote their well-being within that reality. Given the tools we are given to achieve that awareness, our limited senses and a mind prone to misinterpretation of the information our senses provide, I find it remarkable that we have been able to acquire the limited degree of consciousness we do possess at all.

[Purist]

Fascinating subject and I don't think consciousness is limited to humans and animals, There is a debate about plants too
https://qz.com/1294941/a-debate-over-plant-consciousness-is-forcing-us-to-confront-the-limitations-of-the-human-mind/