Where Does Consciousness Come From?
The origin of our consciousness has for centuries been one of the greatest mysteries in science.
We often consider ourselves “different” from other animals in the ways we think, invent,
rationalize, and are self-aware… but the debate still rages on what that feeling of
“being us” really is.
Thanks to innovations in neuroscience, though, we’re closer than ever to understanding
it.
This is Unveiled and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; Where does consciousness
come from?
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Defining consciousness is not an easy task.
Some consider it to be simply the experience of feeling while, for others, it’s all to
do with having a sense of self or a sense of soul.
Philosopher Ned Block argued that there are actually two types of consciousness.
P-consciousness covers our raw experiences such as the detection of sounds, touch, and
our perception of colour - which are independent sensations known as qualia, which together
form our moment-to-moment life experiences.
A-consciousness, though, relates to more complex behaviours like logical reasoning and memory
- which again shape our day-to-day lives.
Ever since René Descartes, there have also been two schools of thought on exactly where
consciousness resides - otherwise known as the “mind-body problem”.
It’s either in the physical world, wired into (and shaped by) our brains, or in another
non-physical realm or dimension that we’re somehow able to access.
The basic idea of consciousness has been around since at least the Ancient Greeks and Aristotle,
though…
And, while traditional science has sometimes shied away from the topic throughout history
because it’s such a subjective experience, it clearly throws up huge questions which
need answers.
The problem with consciousness is that experience is essential to it, but experience can only
be known from within, and therefore we can’t be sure what animals possess it - or even
if every human being possesses it in the same way.
For example, though trees are thought of as mostly static objects that live and die quite
predictably, in some ways they’re actually complex and intelligent beings.
They’re known to form alliances with each other, nurture their young, warn other trees
of approaching danger, and adapt to threats.
Do they, then, have some kind of consciousness that a human couldn’t possibly comprehend?
And does that mean that every living thing exists on some kind of scale of consciousness?
There are scientists whose job it is to search for consciousness.
They look for the Neuronal Correlates of Consciousness (or NCC), which are the minimum mechanisms
that the brain has to demonstrate to create a conscious experience.
For example, if you hold hands with someone, a certain number of neurons have to fire or
nerves have to vibrate before that action becomes something we’re aware of.
This has led some scientists to think the key to consciousness resides in the Claustrum,
a sheet of neurons resting beneath the brain’s cortex.
This vital region connects to every other part of the cortex and effectively “lights
up” whenever almost anything “happens”.
It’s sometimes thought of as something like a conductor for the human brain and body,
turning patterns and sequences into things we experience, feel and know.
It’s by no means a universally accepted point of view, though.
Others argue that consciousness is actually created by multiple regions of the brain that
work together.
For example, in 2016 a team led by specialist Michael D. Fox found that a small, two-millimetre-wide
spot on the brainstem connected to two other, hugely important areas in the cortex; in different
parts of the brain.
Both regions house neurons called von Economo neurons, thought to be essential for consciousness,
and Fox and his team found that, in some cases, it was these regions that were disrupted when
a patient enters a vegetative state.
Clearly, though, whether it’s an amalgamation of all different neuro-regions, or it’s
ultimately determined by the Claustrum, the scientific stance tries to pitch consciousness
as a product of the brain.
Whether that’s true or not, if humanity does manage to tie down consciousness to a
specific part or region of our bodies, we could then theoretically test exactly what
it is: by giving it to artificial beings.
If we could imbue robots with consciousness - a genuine consciousness - then we will have
proven that it does indeed exist in the physical world.
So far, though, even our loftiest aims err more towards programming an algorithm that,
in essence, contains a soul; or appears to be conscious.
But plenty agree that this isn’t the same thing… and plenty more argue that robotic
consciousnesses could never even be proven.
One notable argument against them is the “Chinese Room” thought experiment proposed by John
Searle.
Simplified, it goes like this: An English speaker is in a locked room with a set of
unknown instructions in Chinese and a batch of Chinese symbols to choose from.
That English speaker is then passed a question (written in Chinese) which they need to construct
an answer to (also in Chinese).
Searle’s set-up shows that, eventually, by applying the precise instructions, the
English speaker would be able to produce perfect Chinese writing (and a correct answer to the
question) without understanding any of it.
All of which would - according to Searle - be no different to if a machine ever claimed
to have consciousness.
It would actually only ever be following a very precise set of instructions (a program)
on how to act and behave to make it seem this way.
The importance of the Claustrum, the significance of von Economo neurons and the debate on whether
a true consciousness can be artificially engineered are all only valid if you subscribe to one
half of the “mind-body” problem, though - that consciousness exists in the physical
world.
If we understand it as a non-physical construct, then nothing (robots, humans or anything else)
could ever possess it in a typical sense.
It’d perhaps be more accurate to say that we access it.
Or use it.
René Descartes was arguably the foremost philosopher to posit that consciousness doesn’t
exist in the physical world - suggesting that we’re instead able to access it through
the pineal gland in our brains.
In fact, by Descartes’ reasoning, the conundrum could be totally turned on its head; he could
be sure that he had a mind but couldn’t be sure he had a body.
For him, the body could merely be the product of dream or illusion.
And Descartes isn’t the only one to propose the pineal gland has effectively mystical
powers, either.
A very small part of our overall brains linked with - among other things - the regulation
of sleep, elsewhere it’s been labelled the “third eye”; said to be essential to unlocking
the real human experience; and even thought of as capable of seeing the “true world”
and discovering a deeper connection with God - by those who particularly believe in its
powers.
The scientific evidence for such lofty claims is lacking, but the Pineal Gland’s place
in certain corners of philosophy is set.
For philosophers and scientists, though, what consciousness is and where it comes from are
still two topics very much up for debate!
Our understanding is steadily improving, and our technologies are rapidly progressing,
so we could one day reach the point where consciousness really is an identifiable, measurable,
truly knowable thing.
For some, the answer might actually come via quantum physics (drilling down into the tiniest
fragments of existence); for others, we’ll only know more about or own minds when we
replicate them into robots; and then there are those backing Descartes, pitching our
sense of self as a wholly abstract thing.
It’s a scientific, philosophical and spiritual work in progress, but that’s all we know
about where consciousness comes from.
What do you think?
Is there anything we missed?
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