Can the laws of thermodynamics be applied to how "conciousness" comes about ?

Question

There have been many books written on conciousness, but mostly, just people coming up with inconculsive and unprovable ideas.

There is a school of thought (among various schools of thought) that conciousness is simply a manifestation of matter (ie resulting from the inner workings of the brain), rather than some mysterious new "force".

If conciousness where just spun-off from physics, shouldn't it be measurable and follow the thermodynamic laws ?

I was thinking of putting this question in Religion, but religious people don't tend to think in terms of thermodynamics.

I also considered going to Science/Physics, but the science community all but ignores the question of conciousness.

Answer 1

There is absolutely no way physical laws will ever be able to identify and or measure consciousness. This is because it has no physical form. It exists on the metaphysical level. I mean this in the academic sense, not the common sense of the word "metaphysics." Please see the link below for a description of the difference:

http://www.websyte.com/alan/metamul.htm

Also residing in the same realm are concepts or universals. For example, I can ask you to show me a place to sit, and you can do this because there is physical form involved. But then if I said, "No, I mean show me the concept you invoked to identify a place to sit." And, by the way, how did you know it was the same as my concept for a place to sit?

You would not be able to do it.

Also residing in the academic metaphysical realm is the concept of will.
If you really want to have fun with this, throw will and willpower into the mix as well. Think about it, what good does it do to just try to distill and identify the action neutral "consciousness"?
Our consciousness is intertwined with will and harnessed by willpower, is it not?

These ideas will never be explained by science, only philosophy has a chance to discover them.

Answer 2

The three laws of thermodynamics apply to equilibrium or near-equilibrium systems. Consciousness certainly involves dynamical systems that require energy flows to sustain themselves, are thus far from equilibrium, and highly non-linear. Such systems are areas of active research; the physics is by no means well understood. Do I think that consciousness is a physical phenomenon ? Yes. Do I think that we will ever understand it fully ? I doubt it.

Answer 3

you coulda posted this in Religion and spirituality---I personally believe that it is unimaginable to have a universe without consciousness, that life requires a creator, that the third law of thermodynamics precludes evolution (not adaptation) and that my Christian faith has little to do with reality and much to do with where i was born and how I was raised. But I could be wrong...