What Is the biological basis of consciousness?

Question

Let's skip the religious answers this time please.
If you believe that consciousness is a result of processes taking place inside our brain (was it chemical or electrical signals? I forget...), tell me how you think this is possible, especially focusing on how it is possible to have a sense of self, being able to sort of look at yourself from another view point (not literally look, more like visualization...)

That made less sense than my last question lol.

Answer 1

This is a difficult question because you are taking something philosophical such as consciousness and trying to explain it with something tangible such as science.

If you want my opinion, I say you're in the wrong scientific division: think about chemistry, not biology! (This is an opinion though.) I think that we are a series of the proper chemical reactions. It is my opinion that your soul is a series of chemical reactions. I don't know why really, and I can't completely support it, but that's my opinion...here's my attempt at supporting it though:

If you take biochemistry, you'll notice that there are so many lucky breaks chemically just in your body alone. For example, if you had a different chemical functional group in your cells, like maybe, for example, a molecule with an oxygen there instead of here, or a double bond between certain atoms instead of a single one, that you wouldn't be around. It could have been totally different for life if the right molecules didn't combine.

Answer 2

LIFE. In the brain there are complex structures interconnected to each other by an array of neural proyections. Consciousness resides in the cortex and it is facilitated by information from the Basal Ganglia and the rest of the brain. It does have a ON-OFF switch, the Reticular Formation. But when the switch is OFF, when we dream, we also experience consciousness in a way. To understand the biological basis of consciousness you must first study the anatomical structure that makes it possible: the brain.

Answer 3

Some people think ability of fairly large biomolecules to display quantum effects (superpostion, entaglement... etc) might play some role in how consciousness works. I came across short article in Nature while ago.

That can make things super duper complicated since even without taking those effects into account, its super hard question.
I do think you can't just have consciouness without a brain or some physical origin.

I think this is the ultimate porn for scientsts and intellectuals who think they're smarter than others. Wodering about things like consciousness, god/religion.

Answer 4

1.Consciousness is real but nonphyslcal.
2.Consciousness is connected to physical reality .
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1. Descartes said: “ I think, therefore I am “
2. Buddhist monks said: "I think not, therefore I am"
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The man acts ( the brain works):
1) usually under logic program,
2) sometimes on intuition (unconsciousness).
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Dualism.
http://www.socratus.com