Consciousness may not be as complex as we may think

[Amadeus7]

I just wanted to share my thoughts on what consciousness may be in hopes of getting feedback on how plausible this idea is.

Short Explanation - Consciousness arises when an electric field changes.

Long Explanation - Our brains are filled with neurons, these neurons fire electrical charges, this causes changes in the electric fields in the brain. When we are alive our brains have electrical activity, when we are dead they don't.

This leads me to believe that our conscious experience is tied to a change in an electric field.

If this is true then how do we experience so many unique subjective experiences? It's simple actually, an electric field can have many shapes based on the surrounding disturbances which gives rise to the wide variety of conscious experiences we have.

Does my conscious experience come from one field or multiple fields? I believe your own conscious experience is tied to a single field. It cannot be more than one because theoretically each of those fields could be moved into separate brains.

If this idea is true, then that would mean that the dead could theoretically be brought back to life if their field is once again in a changing state.

Looking forward to your responses

[The Beast]

Hi.
The idea of permanence. We are… We had been…We will be. What are we? We are not flies. However, we do share DNA… distant cousins. I bring this up due to the recent article in Science about the mapping of 3016 neurons of “Drosophila melanogaster”. I am correlating with the amount of resources the fly used in learning which is what impressed me the most.

[RJG]

Short Explanation - Consciousness arises when an electric field changes.

Long Explanation - Our brains are filled with neurons, these neurons fire electrical charges, this causes changes in the electric fields in the brain. When we are alive our brains have electrical activity, when we are dead they don't.

This leads me to believe that our conscious experience is tied to a change in an electric field.

Agreed. All electrical activity (including neural activity) creates “Back EMF” (feedback; echo effect), that affect nearby circuitry. Physical bodily reactions create neural activity. Consciousness is simply the memory (echo) playback of our most recent bodily reactions.

1. Our body physically (and non-consciously) experiences bodily sensations/reactions.
2. These physical bodily experiences, if significant enough, create neural activity.
3. All neural activity create “Back EMF”; the degree of which is determined by the amplitude of the neural activity (current flow).
4. This Back EMF creates a memory playback experience (echo effect).
5. We experience the “knowing” of our physical bodily experiences via this memory playback effect.
6. This “knowing” of our bodily experiences is what we call “conscious experiences”.

We can only be conscious (aware; knowing) of our physical bodily experiences (sensations/reactions) after it has already happened. Therefore consciousness is only a passive (after-the-fact) experience; it cannot "do" anything.

So, contrary to popular belief - "We can't consciously do anything, ...we can only be conscious of what we’ve already done".

[LuckyR]

Short Explanation - Consciousness arises when an electric field changes.

Long Explanation - Our brains are filled with neurons, these neurons fire electrical charges, this causes changes in the electric fields in the brain. When we are alive our brains have electrical activity, when we are dead they don't.

This leads me to believe that our conscious experience is tied to a change in an electric field.

Agreed. All electrical activity (including neural activity) creates “Back EMF” (feedback; echo effect), that affect nearby circuitry. Physical bodily reactions create neural activity. Consciousness is simply the memory (echo) playback of our most recent bodily reactions.

1. Our body physically (and non-consciously) experiences bodily sensations/reactions.
2. These physical bodily experiences, if significant enough, create neural activity.
3. All neural activity create “Back EMF”; the degree of which is determined by the amplitude of the neural activity (current flow).
4. This Back EMF creates a memory playback experience (echo effect).
5. We experience the “knowing” of our physical bodily experiences via this memory playback effect.
6. This “knowing” of our bodily experiences is what we call “conscious experiences”.

We can only be conscious (aware; knowing) of our physical bodily experiences (sensations/reactions) after it has already happened. Therefore consciousness is only a passive (after-the-fact) experience; it cannot "do" anything.

So, contrary to popular belief - "We can't consciously do anything, ...we can only be conscious of what we’ve already done".

Okay. Well then what word do you like to describe the act of hearing me instruct you to do something, then you deciding whether or not to do that thing? Sounds like "consciousness" would be the memory of having performed those in your way of thinking.

[Stoppelmann]

I just wanted to share my thoughts on what consciousness may be in hopes of getting feedback on how plausible this idea is.

Short Explanation - Consciousness arises when an electric field changes.

Long Explanation - Our brains are filled with neurons, these neurons fire electrical charges, this causes changes in the electric fields in the brain. When we are alive our brains have electrical activity, when we are dead they don't.

This leads me to believe that our conscious experience is tied to a change in an electric field.

If this is true then how do we experience so many unique subjective experiences? It's simple actually, an electric field can have many shapes based on the surrounding disturbances which gives rise to the wide variety of conscious experiences we have.

Does my conscious experience come from one field or multiple fields? I believe your own conscious experience is tied to a single field. It cannot be more than one because theoretically each of those fields could be moved into separate brains.

If this idea is true, then that would mean that the dead could theoretically be brought back to life if their field is once again in a changing state.

Looking forward to your responses

This sounds comically like the idea that Dr. Frankenstein had when he sewed body parts together and then let an electrical charge run through them. What he got was a monster, and what your idea suggests is that we are just biological machines, and the brain is a moist computer. The problem is that computers are programmed and have no spontaneous consciousness, and even animals have varying levels of consciousness it seems. It remains the hard problem, and simplified answers do not help.

[amorphos_ii]

one can reproduce electro-magnetic effects the same as what are occurring in the brain, but in a lab. conciousness is informed by such input, which is converted to mental qualia [what the mind understands and sees] ~ which is not electrical nor energy based et al.

the universe come from something which went before and thus isnt anything in the universe, why do we even expect that everything can be explained by physics.

[Pattern-chaser]

All electrical activity (including neural activity) creates “Back EMF” (feedback; echo effect), that affect nearby circuitry. Physical bodily reactions create neural activity. Consciousness is simply the memory (echo) playback of our most recent bodily reactions.

1. Our body physically (and non-consciously) experiences bodily sensations/reactions.
2. These physical bodily experiences, if significant enough, create neural activity.
3. All neural activity create “Back EMF”; the degree of which is determined by the amplitude of the neural activity (current flow).
4. This Back EMF creates a memory playback experience (echo effect).
5. We experience the “knowing” of our physical bodily experiences via this memory playback effect.
6. This “knowing” of our bodily experiences is what we call “conscious experiences”.

We can only be conscious (aware; knowing) of our physical bodily experiences (sensations/reactions) after it has already happened. Therefore consciousness is only a passive (after-the-fact) experience; it cannot "do" anything.

So, contrary to popular belief - "We can't consciously do anything, ...we can only be conscious of what we’ve already done".

Point of Information: "Back EMF" is a technical term used in Electronics, with a clearly (if technically) defined meaning. This meaning is not that which you employ here.

[RJG]

Okay. Well then what word do you like to describe the act of hearing me instruct you to do something, then you deciding whether or not to do that thing? Sounds like "consciousness" would be the memory of having performed those in your way of thinking.

We are “conscious” of our bodily reactions AFTER we have the bodily reaction.

If I consciously hear you instruct something, then I am conscious of this AFTER my body reacts to the sound waves and translates these waves into meaningful sensations (words that I understand), that I then become conscious/aware of.

If I am conscious of having decided something, then I am conscious of this AFTER my body reacts and makes the decision, that I then become conscious/aware of.

Consciousness itself does not make decisions or “do” anything. The physical body does; it reacts/responds to the applied stimuli, and then if significant enough (i.e., enough neural current flow), then we can become conscious of this bodily reaction.

When we are conscious, we are conscious of “something”, not nothing. This “something” is bodily reaction(s).


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Point of Information: "Back EMF" is a technical term used in Electronics, with a clearly (if technically) defined meaning. This meaning is not that which you employ here.

Not so. I do mean “back EMF” as understood from the electrical point of view. Back EMF is how transformers work. Current flowing in one circuit/winding transfers and creates current in another isolated circuit/winding via the phenomena of “Back EMF”.

Electrical current passing through a conductor generates a field of energy that can potentially transfer to other neighboring circuits if close enough. This is a big deal in the semiconductor industry. If the chip makers want to create more circuitry in a smaller place, then they have to reduce the current flow because of this transfer issue.

[The Beast]

In paraphrasing Jung, there is a formula or a fourfold structure of unity acting in a process of transformation and (why not?) one of integration. The self is not just a quantity or constant form, it is an “image Dei” in humans or an active force. Sequentially, we might think of divisions but in a analogy we might see the speed of light as a conscious thought the same as we think of the sun as the feeling of its presence of light and warmth… and what about the stars when I can measure distances with my hands shorter than the distances within my skull. If you being told to paint a star, what would you do?

[Alan Masterman]

"just wanted to share my thoughts on what consciousness may be in hopes of getting feedback on how plausible this idea is.

Short Explanation - Consciousness arises when an electric field changes.

Long Explanation - Our brains are filled with neurons, these neurons fire electrical charges, this causes changes in the electric fields in the brain. When we are alive our brains have electrical activity, when we are dead they don't.

This leads me to believe that our conscious experience is tied to a change in an electric field."

Followed you thus far. As an ex-soldier, I know that if you concentrate your vision too hard on one point, your peripheral vision disappears entirely, but, if something moves in the periphery, it suddenly snaps back into view. But as to the rest...?

[LuckyR]

Okay. Well then what word do you like to describe the act of hearing me instruct you to do something, then you deciding whether or not to do that thing? Sounds like "consciousness" would be the memory of having performed those in your way of thinking.

We are “conscious” of our bodily reactions AFTER we have the bodily reaction.

If I consciously hear you instruct something, then I am conscious of this AFTER my body reacts to the sound waves and translates these waves into meaningful sensations (words that I understand), that I then become conscious/aware of.

If I am conscious of having decided something, then I am conscious of this AFTER my body reacts and makes the decision, that I then become conscious/aware of.

Consciousness itself does not make decisions or “do” anything. The physical body does; it reacts/responds to the applied stimuli, and then if significant enough (i.e., enough neural current flow), then we can become conscious of this bodily reaction.

When we are conscious, we are conscious of “something”, not nothing. This “something” is bodily reaction(s).


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Okay to translate, your definition of consciousness is similar to what many, if not most would call memory. And your use of reaction is what others might call decision making (or even consciousness).

[RJG]

Okay to translate, your definition of consciousness is similar to what many, if not most would call memory.

Very close. To be more specific -- Consciousness is the recognition (of physical bodily reactions) made possible by memory.

Without memory, there could be no recognition (nothing there to match up with!), and therefore no consciousness. Consciousness relies on memory. No memory = no consciousness.

The process of recognition converts non-conscious physical bodily reactions into conscious experiences via memory.

And your use of reaction is what others might call decision making (or even consciousness).

No, physical bodily reactions are non-conscious events. The process of recognition converts these non-conscious physical bodily reactions into conscious experiences.

[LuckyR]

And your use of reaction is what others might call decision making (or even consciousness).

No, physical bodily reactions are non-conscious events. The process of recognition converts these non-conscious physical bodily reactions into conscious experiences.

Well to be fair, you're using your definition of consciousness to define (or redefine) other's perhaps more common ones. Which is neither here nor there.

All in all an interesting take on the human condition, though not one I share. Kudos to you.

[Agent Smyth]

In a physicalist's eyes, the OP makes complete sense. After all, to adherents of physicalism consciousness is simply an electrochemical phenomenon that takes place in the brain. It can't be anything else now can it?

[RJG]

It can't be anything else now can it?

It seems to me that all other explanations rely on the belief in 'magic'.

I think most people don't want to (are unable to) relinquish their belief in their perceived magical power (conscious-control; free-will), so as to accept a more rational explanation.