One of my favorite passages is from the consciousness chapter and describes the development of the consciousness and how its feeling of ephemerality developed. "It might be a troubling conclusion for some people, but it seems inescapable: our sense of spirituality arises from the fact that consciousness operates on a need-to-know-only basis. We're shut out of our own brain for the sake of survival" (Lane Location 4199, I'm reading this on a kindle and the kindle edition apparently doesnt have pages numbers I will look up the pages numbers using the lab copy tomorrow). This statement seems rather absurd at first but part of the reason I think its so interesting is that with a little thought it is such a logical and simple conclusion. Lane argues that basic feelings of consciousness arise from the stimulation of certain patterns of neurons in the brain. These patterned stimulations give rise to emotions we identify as hunger, lust, and so forth. Individuals experience these baseline conscious emotions because they ensure reproductive success. An individual gets hungry to prompt eating and thus survival. So individuals that experience these emotions are selected for over others. On top of this the reason consciousness seems so spiritual and unearthly to us despite its physical origins is due to natural selection as well. Organisms that were aware of how their consciousness is based in physical stimulation and activity would spend energy and brain power keeping track of these processes and would be distracted from the workings of their external environment. There is no reason for consciousness to actively remind us of its physical basis and doing so would reduce an organisms chances for survival. A predator might go unseen while the animal is preoccupied with its internal brain activity. This makes the gap between brain activity and consciousness not only the product of natural selection, but a vital one at that.
Lane admits that this theory does not have all the evidence backing it as he would like, but I really like this passage because it explains a puzzling intangible concept in relatively simple biological terms. Even if this theory proves to be wrong I appreciate the idea as a great thought exercise. I would be surprised if everyone in the class agreed with Lane on this statement so one question I have for the class is why shouldn't their be a gap between brain activity and consciousness? Also I believe this disconnect does not mean that there is anything special or transcendental about consciousness as if we feel the emotions as the result of physical sensation I see no need for a transcendental process thoughts anyone?
Hey Logan,
ReplyDeleteI have yet to come across this chapter in the book but I find this idea very interesting. I have never thought about the evolution of consciousness before but like you I agree Lane's statement is thought provoking. It does not make sense to spend time and energy focusing on our own consciousness when we can focus on other emotions that will enhance our fitness.