Archives - Consciousness: Page 28
Author: amparo enriquez (Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:26 pm)
Title: consciousness
CONSCIOUSNESS DEBATE
Consciousness represents one of the greatest mysteries still left un touch by science. It is difficult to think that the perceptions and feeling we constantly enjoy, our very thoughts and pains, are part of this mystery. However upon further reflection one can be struck by the fact that this obvious gift we experience every day and take for granted has no easy explanation. How is it that from a clump of soft wet matter a complex cognitive and emotional life emerges?. How is it possible that millions of neural net works and their interaction give birth to mental process, and emotional experiences?.
Perhaps among the most important efforts to clarify the phenomenon of consciousness now a days comes from an school of thought that considers consciousness and illusion based on tricks the brain plays on us.
Our visual three-dimensional perception is certainly a creation of the brain since the image that arrive in the retina is flat; and in deed researchers have proven that every line and image we see in our mind’s eye is the result of an active constructive process based on brain activity. The brain receive cues from the outside world through photons that impact the retina. Based on this information carried by the optical nerve to the lateral geniculated nucleus (which is part of the thalamus) and later on to the visual occipital cortex, a visual reenacted world emerges with excellent image definition an beautiful colors. Because of neural complex processes we can experience a parallel an approximate replica of the world, that although not perfect is good enough to lets us function in the physical world where we dwell.
The three dimensional visual images we perceive (the world we see outside of us) at a distance as well as the nuances of beautiful colors of those images are all a creation of the brain. The purpose of our visual system is to help guide us through a physical world where we need to survive.
Our visual perception and the awareness we have of it, is undoubtedly an incredible stunt play by the human brain, nevertheless, that is not the only trick that complex biological organ plays on us. Our feelings of touch coming from parts of our bodies as well as our perception of pain coming from a hand or leg, as hard as it might be to believe, is created by the brain. A person could have lost an arm or a leg, and feel pain, arising from the missing extremity. As it is, some patients might feel their arms moving along their bodies while they walk even when they lack arms. As we can see the brain is capable of doing some magical wonders that are in deed unbelievable. With illusions like this we can experience a body that is really in the head. Of course almost always the body experiences we have are well related to our body actions and the feeling of touch we experience, do correspond to objects we are in contact with in the real world.
There is a lot left to explain however, as for instance our consciousness experience of feelings and colors or how does the brain, creates our conscious visual illusions making us believe that thinks (objects) are out there, when in reality they are inside our heads. There is still much work to do, nevertheless we are starting to get a glimpse at how the mind works or better of course how the brain does the mind.