Immateriality of Consciousness (Humans)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Sunday, December 05, 2010, 19:33 (5101 days ago) @ dhw

I'm no expert on how the body produces energy, but I can tell you without fear of contradiction that if the heart doesn't pump the blood round your body to carry the necessary oxygen and nutrients, your brain will die and then it will rot. The energy that drives our physical selves is provided physically. The theory that there is another form of energy which is independent of the body, and which ... for want of a better term ... we call the "soul" is precisely what we're discussing, so I don't know why you say the energy that drives the brain "has to" come from outside. We just don't know whether the brain is the source or the medium for consciousness. Nor can I see how a foetus will give us the answer, since whatever consciousness it might have may also be derived from the brain functioning through the mother's bodily energy. But while I dispute your "has to", I'm as mystified as you by the nature of consciousness and identity, and am open to any evidence either way. -LOL I am not arguing that fact our body produces energy. But the question does in fact have to take the womb into consideration. If the energy powering our brain while in the womb is coming from an outside source, does that hold any implications for the initial source of consciousness for an individual? Does, and if so how does, that energy help shape the newly emerging consciousness prior to it being subjected to any form of experience?