Page Nav

HIDE
FALSE
TRUE

Classic Header

{fbt_classic_header}

Latest:

latest
header

Consciousness - modelling the world

Why is it so hard to understand the brain? The brain is working in a parallel manner, difficult to distinguish between what important a...


Why is it so hard to understand the brain?
The brain is working in a parallel manner, difficult to distinguish between what important and what is not for the specific function. The consciousness is maybe the biggest mystery of the brain's mechanisms.

Why we have consciousness?
Consciousness needed to have "free" will, the will that we are experiencing. This is necessary to have our subjective experience.

We are capable of what with consciousness?
We are capable of choosing between possible choices based on prior experiences and actual circumstances.

What is the subjective experience?
The subjective experience differentiates us from the outside world. This is the "feeling" of our past and present.
Like seeing color. If our system works well, we see colors. But what we "feel" when we look at a color is determined by our past experiences, and as it is, ultimately subjective.
As it is the music. Anybody can hear the tunes of music but what we "feel" when we hear music based on experiences before.
The subjective experience, what we are experiencing is the feeling our past in our present.

What is the will?
The will is when we want something.
The will that we are experiencing is not the free will in a classical manner, what we are expecting from an absolute free will. That kind of free will maybe don't exist, and it is still the subject of the philosophy.
Our will, what we are experiencing as free will, is the resultant of our past experiences and present states. As it is, this is not the choice from the pool of anything. The choice is not free, it is influenced, determined by our past and present, but because it is so complex, we are experiencing as a choice by our "free" will.

What is choosing between choices?
The brain creates a parallel model of the world based on inner states and actual experiences. Choosing is means selecting models of a future desired state.
Creating a parallel model is a consequence of the parallel functioning of the brain. Choosing between possibilities that we are experiencing as a will.

What is consciousness then?
Consciousness is a brain function that creates models of the world. This is ultimately subjective because it is based on OUR past experiences. So what we are experiencing as consciousness is the experience of the model of the world what the brain creates.

Why we have only one consciousness?
Consciousness is a complex process, the whole cortex contributes to it and builds a model. If we had more than one model, those ultimately would confront with each other because they are using the same input and resources.
We could have two conscious states in the split-brain cases. In these cases, the higher-level fields of the brain cannot communicate with each other, this kind of brain may form more than one consciousness.

How we experience the models of the world what the brain creates? How we feel consciousness?
This is not a unique function, this is just how the brain process inner and outer information.  We just "feel" our consciousness.

Every kind of brain has this kind of behavior?
No, the brain has to have the plasticity to be capable of modeling different models.

Why consciousness is like a light switch? We feel it or not but not between.
As soon as the brain starts to create models we are experiencing consciousness either if the model is partial and not include all the senses.

Why consciousness can be turned off?
If the brain follows only the already existing pathways, then it is not necessary to build models to compare them. If only one model exists then no consciousness necessary. The consciousness is a pricy function, consumes lots of resources.

How consciousness can be turned off?
If the brain acts as only one pathway and does not model the world, we don't experience consciousness.

How consciousness can be turned on?
Even if there is only one behavioral pathway, this pathway still requires sensory feedback for the necessary behavior. When this feedback results in an unfit experience for the given pathway - which means different pathways get stimuli - then different models light up, the experience of consciousness starts.

How can we experience consciousness when we are not acting, we are in a passive state?
We are always acting even if we don't have motoric responses. The brain can create different models without active motoric reactions. Even without active sensory input too. The consciousness exists in the brain's inner world, even it is based on past experiences. Our brain always works, our neurons continuously firing even without sensory inputs. The brain creates its consciousness by itself.

No comments