Does consciousness exist outside the brain reddit. To claim that consciousness doesn't require a brain, you must first demonstrate that consciousness can or does exist without a materialistic "brain". No consciousness, no perception of having a body at all. In other words, the “mind” is a field that exists around the brain; it picks up information from outside the brain and communicates it to the brain in an extremely fast process. Consciousness requires a brain but the brain can be artificial. g. Apr 2, 2024 · If it's true that one can be conscious of life outside the body while in a coma with no brain function, then it leaves the question of where our consciousness is located unresolved. The something is the brain. No, people who say this assume consciousness is something immaterial which I have to "prove" is caused by the brain and so they think me defining it as what the brain does is "presupposing my own conclusion. They are an interpretation of a brain of a certain type of light with a certain energy, that's it. Thus for anyone looking at another person's brain, there are two versions of that brain, the consciousness-composed object called a "brain" that is basically just a creation of the brain of the person is looking at another person's "brain", and the other person's brain that is not a creation of the brain of the person looking at that brain, i. Is there anything 'real' about color besides our perception of it, do the colors exist outside our perception in any way? Colours do not exist in any way outside of perception, except for the equivalence wavelength/colour. Life might as well be a movie. I know my body exists as a physical experience in my consciousness/mind, but the hypothesis that it also exists as a material Body external of consciousness mind is superfluous and efficient. The body exists within the field of consciousness. If you would apply the same line of reasoning, a rock would not exist outside the consciousness of something. It isn't tied to a single part of the brain, it emerges from the functions of the brain as a whole. This would explain how these people suddenly gain clarity. Consciousness does not exist without or outside of a brain. This does not automatically include the practice of awareness or practice of being conscious. That needs to be structure by something to provide thinking. So no. I'm an engineer/mathematician by trade and have what I consider a justified belief that materialism has provided What I wonder, is, how does this happen. If consciousness does not reside in the brain or body, "where" is it? I think Sam takes the reasonable position that consciousness is almost certainly affiliated with the brain due to the plethora of neurocorrelates that can be measured objectively and linked to subjective experiences, however he wouldn't rule out the possibility that consciousness does not originate in the brain. unless Posted by u/numberonepaofag - No votes and 210 comments I think you’re wrong to say it’s indisputable that consciousness is created in the brain. The brain has been deteriorating for years, how does it come back. , physics, chemistry, and The soul/consciousness is not in the body. Although for sure, all evidence points to that, and it definitely seems the most logical conclusion, the problem is that we’re limited to our own senses, and what we can see, observe and record, which is not necessarily the entire picture. Long story short, there is no evidence whatsoever which suggests consciousness can exist outside the brain; in fact it goes against most of what we know in neuroscience. My best guess is that consciousness is due to some fascinating feature of the brain. But what is the point in being strapped into a machine when you can't change anything. You could probably argue that consciousness emerges from the brain/body interface as Oct 18, 2023 · A recent experiment suggests the brain is not too warm or wet for consciousness to exist as a quantum wave that connects with the rest of the universe. It's produced by the brain, but it's not dependent on it to exist. In this case, what they mean is, in the first place, that no one has furnished an explanation of this kind -- at least none But I watched a Ted talk dennett gave about consciousness being an illusion, and yet all of his examples were how our brain can get fooled by illusions in the contents of consciousness, which seemed not to be hitting at the issue of consciousness itself being an illusion, so I hope his book is clearer about this than the talk was. it is not a tangible thing, and the only reason you think it exists is because you exist. Olga Danylenko Hi u/FlakyJackfruit9892, . So either it does originate in the brain in ways science has not confirmed just yet, or everything is just an illusion. Your claim, that consciousness exists after the brain dies, is the extraordinary one. Where exactly is memory stored "outside of the brain"? Or does it extend beyond the brain? The question of how consciousness and matter interrelate has been characterised by the philosopher David Chalmers as the ‘hard problem. Sure, the brain processes information, but it does so in a completely different t manner than a computer does, so referring to things like the brain's hardware, software, and OS is just incorrect at all but the most trivial of levels. There may be other theories. Consciousness does not exist “out there. Members Online Nov 1, 2019 · We know that consciousness exists not through experiments but through our immediate awareness of our feelings and experiences. Sep 6, 2022 · Neuroscience today says consciousness is generated by and localized in the brain because it emerges from brain activity. If those blades of grass were light waves, we would see each individual blade of grass as a different "hue," with shorter blades being closer to red, medium being closer to green, and longer ones being closer to violet. In the case of the color red, it is the phenomenon of a brain interpreting the wavelength that a particular photon has. " Consciousness is emergent. ” Consciousness is the presence of subjective experience. Alternatively, we propose that consciousness may not originate in the brain, although some aspects of human perception of consciousness may be dependent on the brain. There are certainly examples of people who are “unconscious” in the medical sense of not being alert (e. Consciousness is an emergent phenomenon of a complex, large group of interconnected, interacting neurons. No scientist knows why or how consciousness exists. From a lay perspective, the fact of consciousness (here meaning awareness) is so self-evident that the only question that may arise is why anyone would consider consciousness to be mysterious in the first place, akin to asking a fish, “What is water?” One thing that is worth considering is the epihenomenal theory of consciousness, which essentially states that the consciousness is a biproduct that arises out of the workings of the brain, but does not influence it. This new machine has many advantages: It is immune to decay, and perhaps it will allow you to live forever. The brain creating consciousness "seems" to be the most "practical" value until one realizes that for the brain to create consciousness (if one also believes consciousness ceases to exist at death), the brain must magically create it ex nihilo, that is, by causing something that does not exist to inexplicably come into existence. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. My thoughts on this: if consciousness could exist outside of a brain then it wouldn't have to be bound to memory (because memory is bound to the brain), but since it is (we can not remember the time before we were born), I assume that the consciousness can not exist outside of a brain. “There is no empirically established explanatory framework for understanding how consciousness can exist independently and outside of the brain. My answer to your question is no because if we make a sufficiently complex sensory network for an AI, I believe the AI could be conscious but then that would simply be a brain. Consciousness is an emergent property of a sufficiently complex sensory network. Aug 11, 2022 · Consciousness can not simply be reduced to neural activity alone, researchers say. Reddit. Same thing as for god, which is relevant because the two are faith without evidence. Hence, in Fenwick’s view, the brain does not create or produce consciousness; rather, it filters it. However it then requires some elaboration. A novel study reports the dynamics of consciousness may be understood by a newly developed conceptual and mathematical framework. Even without eyes, we can measure light. In fact, Fenwick believes that consciousness actually exists independently and outside of the brain as an inherent property of the universe itself like dark matter and dark energy or gravity. My toe tissues are not conscious. Outside of our brain colors would be more similar to blades of grass: all the same "thing," but all different lengths. it cannot be observed from the outside, so if they copied your brain, atom for atom, and you died and your clone replaced you, it would make no difference whatsoever. , physics, chemistry, and The other option is that consciousness exists in another "dimension" which our brains tap into. Obviously there is no consensus on how consciousness works, but I’ll answer this based on what most people seem to agree upon. The internet doesn't disappear just because a smart phone breaks. We also suggest that awareness also extends beyond the brain. Neither are my hair follicles. Electrical activity in the brain is not In fact, Fenwick believes that consciousness actually exists independently and outside of the brain as an inherent property of the universe itself like dark matter and dark energy or gravity. Dec 19, 2018 · It then “transmits wave information into the brain tissue, that … is instrumental in high-speed conscious and subconscious information processing,” Dirk wrote. What science says is NOT "there is no consciousness after a brain dies" but that there is no evidence of consciousness after its brain dies. According to one theory that I've heard, the brain is just a receiver of consciousness and when the brain dies consciousness still exists, just like when smart phone breaks, the internet still exist. Brad Jesness Raw consciousness exists outside the brain. I think our our bods are just built built to be conduits. The burden of proof is on you. "There is no empirically established explanatory framework for understanding how consciousness can exist independently and outside of the brain. Cite. To address your other statements, it would be more accurate to say we CANNOT reasonably or justifiably have ANY confidence that consciousness can exist without a brain, as there is ZERO evidence of a consciousness functioning without a brain outside of a person's imagination. Most recent answer. And even if the consciousness does rely on a brain for awareness, and other things, does that automatically mean it will die when the brain dies? No. I believe the conciseness is not stored in the brain, but is received by it. Consciousness is something like a self-experienced indivisible substance that has no physical source or a cause, and it is the very being/existing. So, no, I didn’t miss the point at all. Even without ears, we can measure sound. However, I once heard that there was a Christian (I forgot the name, and the exact wording) who came with the counterargument that even though that might be true, things exist because everything exists within God's consciousness. Consciousness has to be pulled From the world because that is the world And when we die the energy energy phase is right back in to the pool all as it has a million other times. The total absence of evidence that it does is enough to prove the affirmative. If a conscious brain would freeze in the sense of every atom suddenly coming to a complete standstill in relation to every other atom in the brain, and then after some time unfreeze the brain would not be able to tell that it would have been in a frozen state from internal information. One of the more uncomfortable ideas is that consciousness is just an accidental by-product, rather than the main purpose of the brain. This is of course a possible theory that can be proposed as an alternative to the conventional narrative. It doesn't matter if the brain creates consciousness; it matters how that consciousness interacts with the world. We noticed you are a pretty new Reddit account, so we just wanted to let you know to check out the subreddit rules here and maybe have a read through our Frequently Asked Questions - they make for fascinating reading! It implies that consciousness is a purely-physical phenomenon, and therefore it should, theoretically, be possible (though not necessarily practical) to simulate it. Consciousness is your subjective experience. But that implies it's not a function of the brain, and therefore it could continue after we die. ” Which is why the comparisons to light/eyes and sound/ears is terrible. Jun 26, 2019 · In fact, Fenwick believes that consciousness actually exists independently and outside of the brain as an inherent property of the universe itself like dark matter and dark energy or Jan 14, 2020 · In our standard view of things, consciousness exists only in the brains of highly evolved organisms, and hence it exists only in a tiny part of the universe and only in very recent history. ” We must define brain. You can get a ‘dead’ brain and stimulate 'random' electrical activity — this is not necessarily conscious. That stuff is all a part of the brain, and like I said, I believe the consciousness, and mind/body are separate, but connected. Jun 26, 2019 · In the same vein, all of the energies and biophysical phenomena that the brain experiences as consciousness do indeed exist independently and outside of the brain (e. I have seen some people suggest that consciousness could exist outside of the brain and that sparked my curiosity. Brain, or rather mind is a decoder/processor of reality’s data. " "By altering the delicate electrochemical balance within the neural circuitry inside your head, the basic ground state of what it is to “be” is — temporarily — abolished" But while theoretical physicists can happily propose ideas such as the predictions of string theory—from ten (or more) dimensions of space to the vast landscape of possible universes—and still have their work get a fair hearing, it is considered a risk to one’s reputation to suggest that consciousness might exist outside the brain. Consciousness is the subjective experience of the most abstract components of human homeostasis, those behaviors which exist not on the level of directly responding to the change in the environment, but rather changes within the response mechanism itself to adapt to potential future circumstances. The consciousness did not deteriorate at all. It's just that hard of a problem Explore the debate on whether consciousness can exist outside the brain, as discussed by experts in neuroscience. But does this mean the cosmos has a consciousness of its own? Yes it’s created by YOUR brain (mind actually). My personal view is that we don't have any reasonable explanation of consciousness yet, but I see a material approach as offering the most productive path forward at this point in time. Brain is physical aspect of mind on the 3D plane. We have no indication that consciousness exists outside the brain. There's very little proof that consciousness is rooted in the brain. Lol, there weren't too many choices when I first chose the tag, so I picked one that was closest. Everything you experience is a result of physical processes in the brain, but these experiences have no effect on physical processes. , in a coma) but still are “conscious” because they still have subjective experiences. Everything points to consciousness being a byproduct of our brains. e consciousness is simply the ability to monitor your own thoughts and judgements. I don’t need proof leprechauns aren’t real to deduce that it’s so unlikely from the absence of evidence as to be pointless to think about. Members Online In the same vein, all of the energies and biophysical phenomena that the brain experiences as consciousness do indeed exist independently and outside of the brain (e. The study of the brain is therefore entwined with the study of Dec 7, 2021 · I can replace your brain with a machine that is its equal in every way, so that from the outside, nobody could tell the difference. 100% of all demonstrated Consciousness that we know of in the universe, has all originated from a material brain of some sort. Then there is the hybrid option. A thinking agent does not actually "think". Single cells do not have consciousness. Does this not show that memory and records of the 3D are indeed kept outside of the brain? Not by itself. No, consciousness isn’t just electrical activity in the brain. , physics, chemistry, and quantum events). Only you can experience your emotions. For discussion of the scientific study of consciousness, as well as related philosophy. A material world is a proposed hypothetical world made of objective matter that exists outside of consciousness/mind. But if our brain is kind of a computer made with neurons, synapses, and other things, why does something as immaterial as consciousness can exist? Why should we think consciouness is immaterial? Anyway consciouness lets you do lots of things, like flexible control, distance future planning and that sort of stuff They claim laughable things like I'm "presupposing my own conclusion" by defining consciousness as what the brain does. Jun 3, 2021 · Our recent paper argues that consciousness involves no separate independent psychological process distinct from the brain itself, just as there’s no additional function to digestion that In the same vein, all of the energies and biophysical phenomena that the brain experiences as consciousness do indeed exist independently and outside of the brain (e. . Further, most examples of 'out of body' experiences that scientists care to study are found to be consistent with natural, known phenomena bound to the mechanics of the brain. It's also a question of the nature of time, and Einstein himself said the passage of time is an illusion, which means that the "past" is alive. Anesthesia, blunt force trauma studies, recreational drug use, simple neuroscience, the list goes on. Perhaps what you have in mind is that people say that we cannot explain how consciousness is entailed by the relevant physical states. In philosophy, “conscious” is not usually equated with “alert. It's often said that we can't explain consciousness, but I don't see why that's so. Consciousness is not outside nor inside of the brain. ’ Modern neuroscientific approaches suggest consciousness and matter are inextricably interlinked. No brain = no consciousness. But the wondrous experience of consciousness itself seems to require a brain to give rise to it and a brain-based mind to perceive it. Sep 7, 2022 · What is consciousness? The term “consciousness” means different things to different audiences. No brains, no colour. The brain produces consciousness but consciousness, whatever that is, exists in some alternate Jun 25, 2024 · Research has found the universe is remarkably similar in structure to the human brain. wlyz rioicsi molmbc ibob vahpg unn tlcq mrhsw dpsijc ztjqdg