What produces consciousness?

What is a human being? What is life? Can science give us reliable answers to such questions? The electricity of life. The meaning of human consciousness. Are we alone? Are the traditional contests between science and religion still relevant? Does the word "spirit" still hold meaning today?

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Riposte
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by Riposte » Sun Nov 28, 2010 10:47 pm

JaJa wrote:hi stevenj you originally said;
As I see it, both boredom and forgetfulness are human perceptions based within the limitation of our particular construct. Both questions arise from the perspective of the "reflection" rather than from that which is being reflected
and then...
Well, for one thing, that which is being reflected holds sole control over what is reflected, and can walk away from the mirror at any time. The reflection, on the other hand, can no more walk away from the mirror than a shadow can walk away from that which casts it. ;)
If the object that casts the shadow has sole control over its shadow, why is the shadow doing a different dance to the object, i'm confused? :oops:
All "objects" are reflections from the source (consciousness). The objects in fact have no control over themselves or their shadows.

Why do the shadows dance differently than the objects? For no reason at all. They just do.

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StevenJay
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by StevenJay » Mon Nov 29, 2010 7:59 am

JaJa wrote:If the object that casts the shadow has sole control over its shadow, why is the shadow doing a different dance to the object, i'm confused?
So am I. You really lost me there, JaJa. :|
It's all about perception.

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CCCstar
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by CCCstar » Thu Dec 02, 2010 8:03 pm

:cry: Oh 8 pages of metaphysical goop with no real consensus. 8-)
I propose an attempt at consensus without metaphysics.

Proposal: "What produces consciousness?" in the limited scope where we use definition part 4 provide below:
"4 : capable of or marked by thought, will, design, or perception."
AND keep the answer to physical (not metaphysical) terms or abstractions.

If we try this limited scope we may be able to reach consensus on what kind of objects have consciousness and then find the common source of that attribute. Any takers :?: :lol:
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GaryN
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by GaryN » Thu Dec 02, 2010 11:51 pm

I propose an attempt at consensus without metaphysics.
That should be interesting. Isn't language metaphysical? How can you think without language?
In order to change an existing paradigm you do not struggle to try and change the problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete. -Buckminster Fuller

moses
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by moses » Fri Dec 03, 2010 1:38 am

Wikipedia states:
"Consciousness is variously defined as subjective experience, awareness, the ability to experience "feeling", ..."

What sort of being has consciousness, is another issue to what is consciousness, or what produces consciousness. Consciousness is non-physical, it is experiencing, the actual feeling. It is sweetness, beauty, smoothness, etc. Consciousness is produced when nerve electrical impulses induce a response in something non-physical that is attached to the body. Death is really the complete detachment of what this something is that is attached to the body.

One must ask what are the properties of this something to begin to answer the question 'What produces consciousness'. This is the ultimate metaphysical consideration. One finds that consciousness, experiencing, has various qualities:
sensitivity, austerity, simplicity, freedom, order, compassion, depth, seriousness, intelligence, virtue, passion, creativity, learning, vitality, silence, gentleness, peacefulness, strength, denial, wisdom, beauty, and of course, love and understanding. All non-physical.

This compares with the physical properties of a being:
self, belief, conflict, discipline, desire, judgement, emptiness, knowledge, morals, laziness, sorrow, struggle and fear, etc, etc. All physical. The difference is that although the physical attributes can cause experiencing, the non-physical attributes are actual properties of the non-physical, experiencing, consciousness. Thus by losing the self one gains in the qualities of consciouness.
Mo

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JaJa
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by JaJa » Fri Dec 03, 2010 1:58 am

StevenJay wrote:
JaJa wrote:If the object that casts the shadow has sole control over its shadow, why is the shadow doing a different dance to the object, i'm confused?
So am I. You really lost me there, JaJa. :|
aw it wasnt that important Steven :lol:

Re: What produces consciousness...

Nothing - there is only consciousness, now, then, forever imo
Omnia in numeris sita sunt

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CCCstar
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by CCCstar » Fri Dec 03, 2010 6:19 pm

It appears my definition of Metaphysics is out of date by several hundred lifetimes :(
Given this definition I suppose we must retain metaphysics in the exploration . :roll:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/metaphysics/
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GaryN
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by GaryN » Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:29 pm

Given this definition I suppose we must retain metaphysics in the exploration .
Oh yes, that's much clearer now. ;-)

Well, I just had to see what my idol Buckminster Fuller had to say:
The physical is inherently entropic, giving off energy in ever more disorderly ways. The metaphysical is antientropic, methodically marshalling energy. Life is antientropic. It is spontaneously inquisitive. It sorts out and endeavors to understand.

We are now synergetically forced to conclude that all phenomena are metaphysical; wherefore, as many have long suspected — like it or not — "life is but a dream."
I'll go with Bucky. :D
In order to change an existing paradigm you do not struggle to try and change the problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete. -Buckminster Fuller

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JaJa
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by JaJa » Sat Dec 04, 2010 3:51 am

We are now synergetically forced to conclude that all phenomena are metaphysical; wherefore, as many have long suspected — like it or not — "life is but a dream."
row... row... row your boat... :D

JJ
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CCCstar
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by CCCstar » Sun Dec 12, 2010 11:42 am

Interesting post adjacent to this location, where a theory of the location of the origin of consciousness is presented.
Interesting reading.
http://www.thunderbolts.info/wp/forum/phpB ... f=9&t=3936
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gregphelps
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by gregphelps » Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:20 pm

I think it isn't too hard to believe, that we exist on many different wavelengths or dimensions of existence, and "consciousness" is the only way to describe the awareness of existence in this state. When the "soul" or core existence energy is tunneled through the subconscious of the physical brain and projected into the dimension of time and physical existence, we are conscious.
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JaJa
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by JaJa » Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:57 am

gregphelps wrote:I think it isn't too hard to believe, that we exist on many different wavelengths or dimensions of existence, and "consciousness" is the only way to describe the awareness of existence in this state.
I once looked into the research of Susan Pockett [The nature of consciousness - a hypotheses]

http://www.acampbell.ukfsn.org/bookrevi ... ckett.html

Dr Pocketts posits that consciousness is somewhere in the EM spectrum (if I remember rightly). She has some interesting ideas but I couldn't help thinking why are you looking in the EM spectrum for signatures of consciousness rather than at the EM spectrum itself as the signature of consciousness?

:?:
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Emol
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by Emol » Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:08 pm

If a video camera had consciousness [was conscious of its surroundings], would it see a linear world, or repetitive static frames?

Sparky
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by Sparky » Mon Mar 07, 2011 11:24 am

Maddogkull1 wrote:What produces consciousness?? Are there any theories that relate to the electric universe or plasma models that talk about consciousness? Is it just chemical reactions in our brain?
It's electrical...something to do with the alcohol electrochemical reaction with the body when not enough is present to prevent consciousness.



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Kilgore Trout
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Re: What produces consciousness?

Unread post by Kilgore Trout » Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:21 pm

hahahaha. I couldn't read this anymore, so I don't know if anyone posted this on here yet. But what first popped in my mind when I read the opening post was a scene from the movie Altered State when William Hurt's character goes into his study and beliefs of metaphysics. Truely classic dialogue. But basically he states that our conciousness is a physical energy that cannot be destroyed, which if you think about it, that can be the reason that certain species are more instinctual than others. Maybe they are linked into that real energy.

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