Mon Mar 26, 2012, 09:03 PM

What is so mysterious about human consciousness? [View all]

Last edited Mon Mar 26, 2012, 09:17 PM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

Forgive me if this has been done here--I have not seen it.

I hear supposedly deep-thinking people refer to our consciousness as not being explainable and something like the last frontier for understanding the human mind. It is like it is some magical happening that transcends current knowledge.

Maybe I am thick--I don't get it. It seems that metacognition is nearly inevitable when natural selection is given some time.

Are we so enamored with ourselves that we need to find something to wonder about? It seems that I have seen many animal studies that suggest that other species are self-aware to a degree. What makes us so special?

Is there a quality of the human mind that I just don't get, being trapped inside it?

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87 replies	Author	Time	Post
What is so mysterious about human consciousness? [View all]	digonswine	Mar 2012	OP
what causes it?	qazplm	Mar 2012	#1
I would think that the "cause" is--	digonswine	Mar 2012	#3
So it goes	longship	Mar 2012	#5
that's not an answer	qazplm	Mar 2012	#21
Ego , the detour from Perspicacity	orpupilofnature57	Mar 2012	#2
Please, go on--	digonswine	Mar 2012	#4
If we have no reason, to reason	orpupilofnature57	Mar 2012	#6
Here is what's so mysterious about it:	napoleon_in_rags	Mar 2012	#7
It doesn't start different	jeff47	Mar 2012	#8
That's still weird.	napoleon_in_rags	Mar 2012	#13
You are going to be in one	jeff47	Mar 2012	#14
What is the "you" the ends up in one of the copies?	napoleon_in_rags	Mar 2012	#15
Making copies makes a copy of your consciousness.	jeff47	Mar 2012	#19
you appear then	qazplm	Mar 2012	#22
I'm in the group that believes consciousness is just our brains doing their jobs	jeff47	Mar 2012	#23
i dont think anyone in this thread	qazplm	Mar 2012	#27
Your question requires a magical consciousness	jeff47	Mar 2012	#28
Yes, but which one is YOURS?	napoleon_in_rags	Mar 2012	#30
Your brain cells	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#32
I'm really not suggesting either way, I'm raising a fundamental question:	napoleon_in_rags	Mar 2012	#35
You are correct about I am saying	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#36
I respect that opinion.	napoleon_in_rags	Mar 2012	#68
The one in the body you inhabit	jeff47	Mar 2012	#40
delete nt	napoleon_in_rags	Mar 2012	#31
no it doesnt	qazplm	Mar 2012	#39
The heart was once a mystical organ given all sorts of magical powers.	jeff47	Mar 2012	#41
oh please	qazplm	Mar 2012	#51
I'm saying due to our lack of understanding, people have leapt to magic. (nt)	jeff47	Mar 2012	#52
saying it is mysterious and difficult to understand	qazplm	Mar 2012	#58
You might want to read the thread you're replying to	jeff47	Mar 2012	#59
no	qazplm	Mar 2012	#64
If half your brain was replaced it would still be you	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#38
I get that-	digonswine	Mar 2012	#10
Trekkies have been debating this very scenario for decades.	Angleae	Mar 2012	#17
A copy. The original dies.	laconicsax	Mar 2012	#29
I think the rule of thumb here	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#37
We don't know how the brain really works.	jeff47	Mar 2012	#9
Oh come on!	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#33
Comprehending 'self' has always been a mystery to philosophers, medicine and science.	Lint Head	Mar 2012	#11
My hypothesis is simple, and I can't really claim that it's orginal, because it isn't...	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#12
Inexplicable works	orpupilofnature57	Mar 2012	#16
Consciousness is a slippery word to define.	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#20
Carl was a Sage ,his ' Baloney Test Kit '	orpupilofnature57	Mar 2012	#25
I think consciousness can be understood	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#34
You've explained the mechanism by which sensations REACH consciousness	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#42
Fair enough	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#48
I honestly don't know the answer to that.	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#49
As said	tama	Apr 2012	#79
Wasn't it Aristotle that said	orpupilofnature57	Apr 2012	#80
Dunno,	tama	Apr 2012	#81
I'm a dumbass ,that's it !!!! Thanks	orpupilofnature57	Apr 2012	#84
That "small step" you mention (and slide right past) is actually the Big Kahuna.	GliderGuider	Mar 2012	#46
I have yet to explore meditation but	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#47
When I meditate I perceive something that seems independent of thought and materiality	GliderGuider	Mar 2012	#50
Yes, this was exceedingly helpful	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#54
A couple of thoughts about meditation	GliderGuider	Mar 2012	#57
I've been reluctant to invest time in meditation	Shankapotomus	Mar 2012	#60
That's very well put!	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#56
I'm pretty sure space/time is an aspect of mass/energy...	hunter	Mar 2012	#53
My best cure for "no reason to live"...	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#55
I don't boil everything down to information, I boil it down to energy.	hunter	Mar 2012	#62
Ah, but we can never see energy.	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#63
and the same can be said regarding love...	hue	Apr 2012	#77
What you say is true. It is also just another way of saying...	Speck Tater	Apr 2012	#78
Think about color.	Jim__	Mar 2012	#18
Consciousness seems to be to be a primarily learned thing.	MineralMan	Mar 2012	#24
That's about how I feel about it-	digonswine	Mar 2012	#26
If you had ever done any serious meditation, for any length of time,	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#43
Oh, dear...	MineralMan	Mar 2012	#44
You're welcome. Always glad to help. :) nt	Speck Tater	Mar 2012	#45
If I tell you I have meditated, that I know what you mean by when you talk about...	Silent3	Apr 2012	#73
I think it's perfectly OK for two intelligent, well-informed people to disagree.	Speck Tater	Apr 2012	#74
Keep in mind that you said this...	Silent3	Apr 2012	#75
Yes I did.	Speck Tater	Apr 2012	#76
yeah I dont think so	qazplm	Mar 2012	#70
Is your consciousness the same today as when you	MineralMan	Mar 2012	#71
The brain is a "radio"...	RagAss	Mar 2012	#61
I feel like you are using technical terms-	digonswine	Mar 2012	#65
Thank you. It was in keeping with the tone you set in your OP.	RagAss	Mar 2012	#67
Fine--I am usually more polite-	digonswine	Mar 2012	#69
Bad analogy aside, we're neither.	laconicsax	Mar 2012	#66
Why	tama	Apr 2012	#82
You're asking why I'm not making the same unsupported presuppositions you do.	laconicsax	Apr 2012	#83
Your bias	tama	Apr 2012	#85
What censorship are you talking about?	FiveGoodMen	Apr 2012	#86
Misuse of host's powers to lock discussions	tama	Apr 2012	#87
'Turn your radio on...'	MineralMan	Mar 2012	#72