On mind, consciousness and biology

Whatever conscious experiences might be defined as, real or illusory, their being possible in the first place makes the world more interesting for sure. At least for me it does. This realization, supplemented by my fascination with biology and with evolution via natural selection and its applicability, always keeps me on the edge of curiosity. This is one reason that led me to pursue a career in biology, medicine and eventually applied neuroscience. Now, I am not a scientist nor a philosopher, but rather a very curious guy working in clinical neuroscience, trying to understand the most robust ideas and evidence behind our very human understanding of the mind or consciousness. Not merely about the why, but also about the how. Exploring the why question led me to philosophy, and the how question led me to science, but I personally think there is a common ground at some point.

I have been thinking and reading about this topic for many years and have had to change my opinions and views numerous times as my understanding evolved. I have had the opportunity to study brain waves and treat people with epilepsy while trying to understand the functioning of the human brain on a daily basis — which doesn’t allow me to discredit the benefits of scientific methodology but also doesn’t stop me from wondering philosophically what it means to exist and experience. I used to look for simpler answers, only to be disappointed every time, because there probably are none. Understanding and explanations are likely layered and exist at different levels of complexity. I have come to understand that what we call reality is not a definite, settled “truth” as most traditional thinkers and philosophers have argued, but rather a dynamic, frequently updating and directional model. We as a species update that model using our best available methods and technology, each time learning something new and discrediting something old. I think the right approach is always to doubt first and find out, and to try not to cater our thinking towards what we want to be true. It’s vital to be uncomfortable in our thoughts, because being satisfied with what we think is the answer is detrimental to the very act of learning. If we do not follow this basic approach, we risk only confirming problematic ideas and falling down the rabbit hole of wishful thinking. It is okay to be wrong, but if we are wrong then we need to accept it, acknowledge it and improve our thought processes without giving up on curiosity. For example, years ago I used to believe that the mind is analogous to computer software as the brain is to hardware — but I now realize that it’s not that simple, and I want to show you readers why. With this in mind, let’s explore what the various human ideas regarding the mind and consciousness are.

Throughout this blog series, I will be using the words “mind” and “consciousness” interchangeably, as they usually describe a similar emergent phenomenon across different cultures, languages and ideas. They can be loosely defined as the process or entity that incorporates thoughts and experiences, regardless of the debate about the cause.

I will first explore the strongest current ideas which try to explain the origin and nature of consciousness. Then I will try to compare these ideas to what human beings have come up with across different cultures separated by time and geography in their process of trying to understand human experiences. Eventually I will try to explore where and how these ideas are strong and where they are weak in comparison. Later I will explore in more detail all these different individual ideas separately. I plan to discuss ideas ranging from Advaita Vedanta and Taoism to Buddhist and Stoic philosophy and metaphysics — all with historical, cultural, anthropological, and scientific contexts — because ideas need to be viewed from different angles to fully understand them.

My goal is to make these ideas and arguments accessible for everyone as I continually learn about them myself, as I think any conscious being is a lab on their own and has the right to explore what their experiences are regardless of the mechanisms behind them. My one appeal to everyone is to be a bit more systematic and honest during that exploration; otherwise, our thoughts will be obscured by a lot of noise which will end up confounding our goal of attaining knowledge, understanding and wisdom. I firmly believe clarity of thought is vital for knowledge and understanding of any kind, regardless of the topic, no matter what culture or geography you are from.

Structure:

Part I - The strongest competing ideas on mind and consciousness

Part II – Traditional human philosophy of mind compared to more recent ones

Part III – Vedanta, Buddhism, Charvaka and Stoicism in the context of philosophy of mind and modern neuroscience

Part IV – Meditation and Sadhana in the context pf the philosophy of mind and modern neuroscience

(Gemini generated image)