Introducing the brain: new consciousness theory (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, October 04, 2022, 17:08 (779 days ago) @ dhw

New consciousness theory

QUOTE: Consciousness is your awareness of yourself and the world around you. This awareness is subjective and unique to you.

dhw: True. However, we can prove over and over again that our subjective conscious perceptions of the world are not unique to us, since so many of them are shared by others. If they weren’t, just imagine the chaos!

QUOTE: "What is completely new about this theory is that it suggests we don't perceive the world, make decisions, or perform actions directly. Instead, we do all these things unconsciously and then—about half a second later—consciously remember doing them."

At first I thought all this was a joke, but apparently not. Amazingly the heading of the article is “new explanation for consciousness”. There is no explanation at all. The authors have concocted a theory about the sequence of perceptions, thoughts and decisions. Consciousness is not explained by the theory that we are only conscious after our subconscious has done the perceiving, thinking and decision-making! The example is surely not meant to be taken seriously:

QUOTE: So, we can say to ourselves, we're just going to have one spoonful of ice cream and, the next thing we know, the container is empty—because our conscious mind is not controlling our actions.

If that is the next thing we know, either our conscious mind was focusing on something else, or we were sleep-walking. Supposing I say I’m going to have one spoonful of ice cream, and I pick up the spoon, notice that it’s dirty, wash it, take the tub from the fridge, remove the lid, accidentally drop it, pick it up, take out one spoonful of ice cream, eat it, decide that I’d like one more, eat it, think about having another spoonful, decide not to, replace the lid, put the tub back in the freezer, and go back to work. How many of these “next things” are unconscious before they become conscious? I suggest that the only one of which I am not directly conscious is what preceded them all – namely, whatever caused the urge to have a spoonful of ice cream. And how does any of this “explain” consciousness?

You skipped over my comment that the brain works to help us relate to reality.