Free Will, Consciousness, Identity (Identity)

by dhw, Saturday, September 01, 2012, 11:31 (4254 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: A reminder. Human consciousness has a huge component of self-awareness, which includes self analysis. My poodle knows himself in the mirror. He is self aware to a degree, but he is not self analytic. In retrospect, I think that point has been missing from many previous discussions we all have had.-http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/2012/08/22/does-self-awareness-require-a...-dhw on this thread, 8 July at 20.12: "Firstly, observation demands consciousness of the thing to be observed, and secondly if the thing to be observed is myself, I see this as additional consciousness [...], and since I can also observe myself observing, I must be capable of many layers of consciousness, which may well set us humans apart from other animals." But you are right, David, the point needs constant reiteration.-A quote from the article you have referred us to: "Given the evidence of Roger's largely intact self-awareness despite his ravaged brain, Philippi, Rudrauf and their colleagues argue that the insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) cannot by themselves account for conscious recognition of oneself as a thinking being. Instead, they propose that self-awareness is a far more diffuse cognitive process, relying on many parts of the brain, including regions not located in the cerebral cortex." -
Well, clearly the current model is wrong. The alternative that Philippi, Rudrauf and their colleagues might consider is dualism, but that would involve taking NDEs, OBEs and other psychic phenomena seriously, which is anathema to science. David has related these to the quantum world, which is taken seriously, so why the heck can't these materialist researchers at least consider joining all the dots in a different pattern? The above quote smacks almost of desperation: the materialist explanation HAS to be right, so let's not even think about evidence to the contrary. No, I'm not arguing for dualism ... I'm arguing for scientific and philosophical open-mindedness and integrity.