Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

1. Noumena :
Metaphysical objects (ideas) that are inferred by the sixth sense of Reason. Con-trasted with Phenomena : physical objects (things) that are detectable by the five senses.

2. Brain/Mind Enformation
<<The absence of an empirically identifiable meeting point between the non-physical mind (if there is such a thing) and its physical extension has proven problematic to dualism, and many modern philosophers of mind maintain that the mind is not something separate from the body.>>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind%E2%80%93body_problem

Post 34. 05/01/2018

The Brain/Mind Paradox

Reason/Superego, Intuition/Ego, Emotion/Id

This is my understanding of how the physical Brain produces the meta-physical noumena1 we know as Mind & Conscious-ness. We'll begin by reviewing some theories of what the mind is, and what it does. In the 17th century, Descartes decided that the Mind is a spiritual analog to the brain, just as the Soul is to the body. But modern science has concluded that the Mind is simply what the Brain does, its mechanical output. As usual though, the BothAnd position is a synthesis of both views2.

Sigmund Freud, in the 19th century, popularized the notion of the Unconscious, as the source of mysterious human motives that lie beyond the reach of awareness. Today we might prefer to call it the Sub-Conscious, because those hidden brain functions involve the same kind of information processing as the overt awareness we call “thinking”. Only when routine data-processing output crosses a threshold of self-importance, or runs into an anomaly or dilemma, does it trigger the feedback loops that we commonly call “Consciousness”. This higher-level form of thinking is characterized by self-reflective awareness, which indicates that the content is of significance to the whole Self, not just to sub-systems humming away in the subliminal background.

20th century scientists proposed metaphors to explain this compartmentalization. The brain functions like a company, with various departments specializing in certain tasks, such as sound & vision, or discriminating self from non-self. All of these routine processes continue without any involvement from the top, until an important decision must be made. That's when the executive office is apprised of the crucial situation via the magic mirror of awareness. The “decider-in-chief” uses the conscious process of reasoning to analyze the relevant data. Then, as in the "natural selection" of evolution, one option is promoted to policy, by weeding out any unsuitable solutions, and allowing the best “fit” to proceed. The preferred alternative is sent back down to the sub-conscious operations of brain & body, to be carried-out by the pertinent sub-systems3.

Freud called the conscious chooser the “Super-Ego”, whose function is Reason, and its executive role requires awareness of both internal and external states. That parental supervisor exercises control over the adolescent “Ego” (Intuition) and the child-like “Id” (Emotion). By far, most of our mental functions operate in the dark, with simple automatic brain-stem impulses designed to keep the organism alive. But in humans, our complex societies require the more complex operations of the cortex, in order to make finer distinctions. This secondary system of "inner knowing" is still sub-conscious, but it has access to pre-formed memories (including biases & prejudices) that had previously been subjected to conscious selection & sorting into meaningful categories. Only when Intuition is stumped with a conflict of interest (e.g. a moral quandary) does it kick the problem upstairs for an executive decision : “I feel sorry for a woman with an un-wanted fetus, but abortion takes an innocent human life. So what would Jesus do? He pardoned the adultress. But then, the 10 Commandments says . . . . . ”

Post 34 continued  . . .

3. Who’s in charge? :   Some neuro-scientists have discovered that there is a negative time delay between subconscious preparations for action, and the conscious decision to take that action. That was interpreted to mean that the subconscious brain had made a decision without waiting for authorization from the executive mind. In other words, your behavior is pre-determined, and your sense of being in control (freewill) is an illusion.
   But another interpretation is that – just as advisors to the president always prepare at least two contingency plans, so they can take immediate action when he makes a decision – the lower departments of the brain act instantly as soon as they get an executive order.
   However, the intuitive sub-conscious mind is very fast, while the rational conscious mind is slow & pondering. So a millisecond difference between decision & execution might be lost in the measurement, due to the tortoise & hare effect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience_of_free_will
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow

To think or not to Think?
To think or to Know?
What is the question?