....all of our conscious states without exception are caused by neurobiological processes in the brain and they are all realized in the brain as higher level or system features. Consciousness is a feature of the brain in a way, for example, that the liquidity of the water is a feature of the system of H2O molecules. It is not something squirted out by the H2O molecules; it is the condition that the system of molecules is in. In the same way, my conscious state is the condition that my brain is now in. And just as a body of water can go from a liquid state to a solid state, depending on the behavior of the microelements—the H2O molecules—so the brain can go from a conscious state to an unconscious state depending on the behavior of the microelements—the neurons. -In the Light of Evolution: Volume VII: The Human Mental Machinery- John Searle Consciousness is a construct of our mental/brain machinery as indicated by every speck of neurobiological evidence. This understanding greatly helps clarify the philosophical idea of mind/spirit vs. body. Absolutely nothing in neuroscience provides any supporting evidence for the existence of any force/spirit/soul existing in a conscious state outside of our physical bodies.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Jun 2014 03:11:22 +0000
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