Phil forum : Off-topic -- The Fifth Dimension

[Gnomon]

I'm intrigued. What are the "signs" that "modern science" has discovered with regard to consciousness in non-human organisms? — ChrisH

As I said before, in physical Science, the "signs" of consciousness are limited to overt behavior, which must be interpreted by analogy to the activities of conscious humans. For example, in mice, intentional behavior must be discriminated from automatic or reflexive actions. But some minimal level of consciousness has been assumed in vegetative or comatose humans, even when they are unable to make voluntary movements.

So, in recent years, neurologists have been using a variety of brain scans looking for indications of consciousness in the electrical activity of the brain. That still requires a lot of guessing and interpretation. So they are using artificial intelligence to spot consistent patterns that signify subliminal awareness. That is a big step toward detecting Consciously directly. But in my thesis, Mind is a highly-evolved intentional form of physical Energy (EnFormAction), which we still can only detect by its effects on physical objects. EnFormAction is the power to Inform, to Transform, to cause Change in both Matter and Minds.


Signs of Consciousness : https://www.scientificamerican.com/gall ... ciousness/

Coma Consciousness : https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/n ... a-patients

Energy :
Scientists define “energy” as the ability to do work, but don't know what energy is. They assume it's an eternal causative force that existed prior to the Big Bang, along with mathematical laws. Energy is a positive or negative relationship between things, and physical Laws are limitations on the push & pull of those forces. So, all they know is what Energy does, which is to transform material objects in various ways. Energy itself is amorphous & immaterial. So if you reduce energy to its essence of information, it seems more akin to mind than matter.
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/page8.html

[Gnomon]

If I understand correctly, the 'consciousness' you're talking about (assumptions based on neural activity) is not the same as the philosophical sense of consciousness (as in the 'hard problem' and p-zombies). — ChrisH

Yes. The links I referred to are talking about scientifically observable signs of consciousness --- a "materialistic explanation". Philosophical Consciousness is not observable via the senses, but hypothetical via reasoning. The basic concept of Consciousness is simply awareness of the environment : Sentience. But theologians & philosophers have posited a variety of shades of mental activity --- sensation, thought, feelings, inner-source-of-truth, conscience, etc --- with Self-consciousness at the top of the hierarchy. But, at this moment, no one is certain of what makes the difference between Conscious and Non-conscious beings. My own theory is that Consciousness is an emergent property of energized matter (living organisms), and that abstract Information is common to all phases of sensing & knowing.


Consciousness : The problem of consciousness is arguably the central issue in current theorizing about the mind. Despite the lack of any agreed upon theory of consciousness, there is a widespread, if less than universal, consensus that an adequate account of mind requires a clear understanding of it and its place in nature. We need to understand both what consciousness is and how it relates to other, nonconscious, aspects of reality.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness/

Sentience : the capacity to feel, perceive or experience subjectively. Eighteenth-century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think (reason) from the ability to feel.
https://speakingofresearch.com/2019/08/ ... sentience/

[Gnomon]

I'd need more information to understand this properly. Do you think consciousness is identical with a certain kind of information processing? — bert1

Yes & no. It's not that simple. In order to understand my theory of Consciousness, you'd need to start with a fundamental "fact" discovered by Quantum theorists : that matter, energy, & mind are all emergent forms of mathematical Information. That's my summation of the concept, but few scientists have made that connection. Paul Davies, physicist & cosmologist, is one of those few, who conceive a new paradigm of Science based on expanded Information theory. As for my personal worldview, it is expressed as a non-academic thesis in my website : Enformationism. As a new paradigm, though, it will puzzle or offend both Materialists and Spiritualists. :joke:

Paul Davies : What is Information? "the primary stuff, out of which the physical world is built".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7EjwUp5krY

What is physical Information? : "photons & Information are the same thing"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or8Rktj_HA4

Enformationism : http://enformationism.info/enformationi ... lcome.html