What if our consciousness is released after death and we are free to roam the universe? That'd be cool as shit, just flying around, doing whatever. What if our consciousness could be explained scientifically and has a specific pattern and structure that makes us percieve ourselves as, indeed, ourselves? If humans become so incredibly advanced, do you think we'd be able to duplicate the patterns and structures, so we'd be reborn in another human's brain? What do you think about my thoughts? Just throwing some things that I think could be possible... What do you think about our consciouses?
You might ... just might ... get some rather interesting replies on this one ... Just remember one thing ... don't be pulled into someone else's intrepretation (view) unless you yourself can directly realize it for yourself as being a truth ...
That's the hope that by 3000 years all uman try to obtain. At the moment uman beings have experienced only the uman life and they believe that the supposed heaven is something similar at life on earth. Indeed, if they would be able to transmigrate their consciusness to a new brain they would be immortal and eternal. Something like gods that they love too much. I heard a story by an american indian in 1800 that stole a soul to another man when he was going to dye and continued to live......... It could be the first step in this direction. see you matteo
Read 'TEN COMMANDMENTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS' posted under http://mindcan.blogspot.com and check for its scientific validity through your own personal experience of consciousness. You are welcome to post your comments as well
In order for this to happen your consciousness would have to transcend your physical body. If this is the case then what is stopping you from letting your consciousness roam the universe right now? Why would you need to wait for physical death.......
I wouldn't know. Maybe it is attracted to the electrical impulses in our brain. I'm seriously just throwing random thoughts out. It could be possible that our consciousness is an actual physical energy, that is attracted to the electrical impulses in our brain. And after we die, our conciousness will automatically look for a new host, a form of reincarnation. And global, I was looking for your own thoughts, not a link.
Consciousness a product of our grey matter, there is no proof of it being any more than that. Separating consciousness from our physical brain matter delves into the realm of Gods and supernatural. Why is Christopher Reeves dead? Superman can’t even overcome nanometers of spinal tissue with his consciousness to control his physical body. Gods, spirits, and souls are all fantasy. The fragile reality of our biological being frightens the hell out of most people. Even if science could allow me to create an identical copy of this chemical protein soup of neurons I call my consciousness that took 30 some odd years to develop its current state, it would still not be MY consciousness in my point of view. My consciousness would still be in my original brain and continue on from the same point of view and experience death. While my newly created mind that would have been a copy of my consciousness at the instant of its creation would have it’s own perspective and begin changing in it’s own ways based in its perceived new environment. I may have cloned my mind but my own original perceptive consciousness would not have experienced the transition. The perception that the new copied mind has would indeed include an illusion that the transition did work because all of the memories and old mind states would have been copied. I’m sure there would be some satisfaction in knowing that in some way your mind will live on in a new body but it will not be your conscious mind as you know it. Of course it is so far beyond or technology to do this you might as well say it is impossible, this is just theory.
Consciousness is a one of occams pet interests. Or so his consciousness proclaims. 1st off, human science has no idea what consciousness is. Yet it seems causaly linked to the operation of the brain. The brain dies in our reality. so it seems does the consciouness. Some have described it as a 'standing neuroelectrical pattern' Formed from multiple skills/agents/emotions and subpersonalities. That results in a mind. Subpersonalities take there place depending on circumstance. The one that drives a car is not the one in a screaming fight with the wife. The one watchin a porn flick is not the one fixing the car. Occam thinks this may be why we are so potent as a species. Our huge neocortex can hold many variants on 'me' that can change in a flash. Such flexibillity is extremely rare in nature. Usually species have a few set patterns and can never deviate. A soldier ant has one A shark has two A lion has 3 or 4 A dog has 5 or 6 We have dozens. Its that old time neocortex that does is. 3/4ths of our brain is just that. And let it be noted, emotions rule our consciousness Nearly all 'modes' are emotion driven. This is an imballance. Any mode that requires something to be 'done in reality' should have no emotion contingent. Why we do, should be emotion. How we do should have none. That way you dont jump up and down and chuck a fit when you hit you thumb with a hammer. What is the point of that? Occam
This is not a dispute or refute of what Occam has posted. Only a relationship in his thinking and that of Buddhism (Theravada tradition). Buddhism teaches that Consciousness is a conditioned response to conditioning factors. In Buddhism there are four basic truths. These truths are called the Noble Truths. The First Noble Truth is oft times referred to as the "Aggregates of Clinging" and they go like this ... Forms condition Feelings, Feelings condition Perception, Perception conditions Volition (mental actions, ideation, fabrications of the mind), and Volition conditions Consciousness. In the Second Noble Truth, the truth of the origin of "suffering", it goes like this ... Ignorance conditions Volition (Action & results - Kamma), Volition conditions Consciousness. In the first instance consciousness is not a single consciousness as an entity unto itself, but rather associated with all the senses. That is, eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness. If one were to understand the First Noble Truth one would understand this relationship as when a sense base (base being eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind) comes into contact with its associated object (forms with the eye, sounds with the ear, odors with the nose, tastes with the tongue, tangibles with the body, and thoughts with the mind) the result is a sensation. Hence sensesation is an experience conditioned by contact between a sense base and its associated object. When we experience sensations we have one of three responses, we either like it or find pleasure in it (pleasant feelings), we either dislike it or find displeasure in it (painful feelings), or we are not sure one way or the other and become confused or deluded to the experience itself (neither-pleasant-nor-painful feelings). This response is a result of the condition of sensations which is a condition of the contact between sense base and its associated object. Our continual experience of feelings of pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain (neutral feelings) condition perception. That is, we continually experiences these feelings and we associate these specific feelings with labels that describe what kind of feeling we are experiencing, i.e., red, blue, green, yellow, sweet, sour, gamey, bitter, acrid, putrid, fragrant, hard, soft, smooth, loud, quiet, piercing, etc. With continual perception we form mental ideas, ideation, fabrications in the mind of what it is we are perceiving, cloth (the cloth looks red, the cloth feels smooth ...), flower (the flower looks yellow, the flower smells fragrant, the flower feels soft ...), music (the music sounds loud, the music feels hard and basey ...), food (the food tastes sweet, the food feels sticky, the food looks green, the food smells delicious), etc. Mental volition, action by the mind in association to responses to feelings of either sight, sound, smell, taste, touch or thought. With continual fabrications we have as a result consciousness. Eye-consciousness associated with the eye contacting visual objects. Ear-consciousness associated with the ear contacting auditory objects. Nose-consciousness associated with the nose contacting odorous objects. Tongue-consciousness associated with the tongue contacting gustatory objects. Body-consciousness with the body contacting tangible objects, or objects that can be touched, or can be experienced by touching. And a mind-consciousness with mind coming into contact with thoughts or ideas. So this is how the appearance of consciousness is conditioned into appearing. To indicate that it is "causally linked to the operation of the brain," is probably as accurate as you can get without holding Buddhist beliefs for the reason being that all sensation is registered by the brain. That is, electrical impulses are produced from stimulation of the sense base and this impulse is sent directly to the brain where the brain processes it. This does not mean, however that the brain is the mind. That would be like saying the battery or the computer of an automobile is the driver behind the wheel. According to the Abhidhamma, the psychology of Buddhism, "mind occurs in a continuous stream of an unbroken succession of discrete congnitive events. These events are called cittas. A citta is a complex unit which comprises consciousness itself. In other words, the basic awareness itself and a group of mental factors that have a more specialized task in the act of cognition."[1] I quote the book because this is how I remembered it. There is also one special citta that has a specific function whose role is to return to a period of rest between each moment the citta is performing a role of recognition. This citta is called a bhavanga and this parcitular citta has the task of "preserving the continuity of an individual existence"[1], or more specifically, the habitual patterns which define the overall characteristics of the individual. So what is being said is that when there is no continuous stream of citta then the mind itself does not exist. A citta arrises in reponse to the sense base coming into contact with its associated object. Again, referring to what I stated above, this is true. One being that emotions are mental states that arrise spontaneously, and two being that emotions are feelings, and according to Buddhism, feelings condition perceptions, perceptions condition ideation, and ideation conditions consciousness. But Buddhism goes one step further to say that it is because of contact between the sense base and their associated object that condition feelings. So it is rather our moment-to-moment experiences that condition our feelings ... on down to ... consciousness. This not to be confused with the idea that the object itself conditions feelings, that is a pretty girl with huge voluptuous breasts condition our feelings, but rather our visual contact with the form which condition feelings of pleasure. So it is not the object or the eye itself that condition feelings, but rather the experience itself when contact is made between the two. It would interesting to understand your thought here in saying, "Why we do," and, "How we do" ... The point in jumping up and down is a response to intense feelings of disliking for the experience of striking one's thumb. I would agree that it may not be necessary to take the "jumping up and down" path as being a part of the painful experiences itself. But the fact remains, unless someone knows the appropriate response to a situation where intense and near spontaneous feelings arise then "jumping up and down" is probably the only one that immediately comes to mind. Perhaps its a mode of giving the mind something else to do outside of focusing on the intense sensations it is experiencing at that time. I know that when I grab a hot bowl out of the microwave oven my first reaction was to flail my hands and make some rather peculiar noises with my mouth. When it became obvious this reaction was not taken favorably by others around who happen to hear it, I quit making the noises and flailing my hands about, but rather started focusing on the painful feelings to determine why I have such averse feelings for the sensation. The same goes for spicy foods. I don't particularily like the sensations I get from eating spicy foods, but I do eat them just to investigate why I have such aversion for the sensation that particular kind of food has produced. Rather than sit there now with my mouth gaped wide open, tears running fromy eyes and breathing in and out heavily gulping water, I just sit there quietly with my eyes closed and watch the event to determine where these feelings of aversion come from. ----- [1] Dying to Live, The Role of Kamma in Dying and Rebirth, Aggacitta Bhikkhu HTML:
Anyway, Many people believe consciousness is a supernatural condition of souls and spirits and our consciousness will live on after our physical bodies are gone. For those who believe that I ask why then do chemical substances have such a huge impact on the state of our minds? I mean if my consciousness is a result of supernatural forces and will exist long after my physical gray matter has rotted to dirt they why would a few milligrams of some physical chemicals have any effect on me!?
Have read some theravada, But am i wiser?. Time will tell. This is enviromental adaption. Evolution. thus buddhism toes the line of reality. I would comment on your post piece by piece but i dont do that. You basically say what i am saying. As for 'emotion is why we do' and 'reason is how we do it.' This is plainly obvious. you WANTan new car. But wanting it wont get it. You have to use that neocortex to get it. The neocortex IS NO PART OF WANT. The limbic/emotive layer is WANT. Occam
[snip] Subpersonalities take there place depending on circumstance. The one that drives a car is not the one in a screaming fight with the wife. The one watchin a porn flick is not the one fixing the car. [/snip] nice point/observation. For me consciousness is a construct that helps us coordinate sense data. An aniaml is a pretty complex mechanism and survives by decision making. Do I go try & get the marmot out of this hole, or go on to another field - maybe I'll find a rabbit there ... A fox has to make decisions based in his situation & his experience as to which option is most likely to get him a meal that day. I would say that emotions, physical pain, remembered desires etc are all a part of this decision making mechanism. so, no more need to survive (eg being dead) no more conciousness...
