Where is the 'me' part located in my brain? What part of the brain, if removed and replaced, would kill my existence and replace me with somebody else? How is it that I remain 'me' throughout my entire life even though my brain changes a considerable amount from age 5 to age 70?
I know the answer. I'm just checking if this board actually has any smart people, or if it's how I expect and you're all just a bunch of textbook readers and calculator monkeys who are incapable of philosophizing.
hello rato.
.
I am smart
it's impossible to know if you have the same consciousness you had 20 years ago
being alive and being yourself isn't the same thing rato
see: people with brain damage
I didn't know you had an interest in science, Senator.
I am saddened that yo udropped out of the race, i, for one, was one of your fervent supporter.
you don't even have the same consciousness from day to day
assuming you sleep each night
in fact it would be more accurate to say it's constantly in flux
even reading this post has changed you slightly
Define "consciousness"
the state of being aware of and responsive to one's surroundings
We change constantly because we learn constantly. While you're reading my post you're no longer the "you" you were while typing yours.
If any part of your brain is replaced/changed, you're no longer the "you" you were before that.
Then how can there be "different" consciousnesses? Regardless of how much our bodies change by each second that passes, we're still aware and responsive of our surroundings, so by that definition our consciousness doesn't change, as we're still in the described state constantly unless we sleep, in which case we can wake up and regain the state of "consciousness" again
due to the way awareness functions (by association)
for example - you see a red car in the street
your brain does not have to explain every time this happens what a car is, you already have an associative heuristic - 'car', which you already learned
your perception (and thus, awareness) is entirely based on association
Okay, but how does this show that consciousness is not unique and constant? According to your definition, consciousness is the state of being aware and responsive to your surroundings. When you say that there are different types of consciousness, what exactly do you mean?
Not that guy but...
But our brains filter out repeated information in order to better focus on where we want our attention.
You want your attention on those boobs? You're not consciously observing the sky is blue, unless you moved your focus to the sky.
This is so that you can focus more of your attention and brain power on admiring 'em, (maybe set some brain aside for surveillance so you don't get caught. wink wink)
But it's ultimately up to where you apply your focus.
You have less conscious awareness of things you're not focused on. But the senses can still pick up on it and store that information for later. This information is subconsciousness. It was observed, your are aware on some level. But not the level your focus is on.
>This information is subconscious
People tier levels of consciousnesses by different levels of focus.
A different kind of focus is a different kind of consciousness.
Bullshit. I'm still me. I still feel the same.
"You" is an illusion.
what i mean is that your reality is constructed inside your head based on sensory data (you know this already)
but it's made using ideas and concepts which are already in your head, and which are updated constantly by experience
so the experience can never be the same twice, even if the stimulus is identical
Memory is distributed, so killing you would require destroying the entire redundant array.
>I still feel the same.
But you're a little different.
(You)
So, if I get what you are saying, "you" is a process and not a thing.
Yes.
...
Couldn't agree more. Most people don't get this.
we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream and we're the imagination of ourselves.
If that were the case then why do we imagine ourselves as we are? And if we ceased to think would we cease to be? You ought to read some Descartes, as it seems this discussion has taken a turn towards philosophy.
...
How does that pic relate to what was being discussed?
Not OP. Good set of answers for once Veeky Forums. Additionally, trauma events can change personality and this whole discussion impacts on AI and whether 'rules' can be hardwired.
Without delving in the "my blue could be your red" department, you oughta admit that people sometimes are deluded to how they view themselves.
We happen to function as a species because we tend to imagine ourselves similarly.
Your entire body is "you". If someone cuts off your leg, your personality is fundamentally changed by that experience.
>death consciousness
Great alburm
Hodge podge what you said your soul is you
It's in the ego part.
Actually, neroscientists call this part of the brain the "claustrum". It sits right in between the midbrain and the neocortex, so that it acts as a mediator of sorts, giving "you" a false sense that all of these disparate parts, with often conflicting interests, are somehow one whole.
This part of the brain, when electrostimulated, essentially switches off consciousness.
The reason you still feel like yourself even after you have changed so drastically is purely due to the fact that you have access to memories formed by your past selves. The self, understood in this sense, is but a record of development.