Our Awareness
Daniel Bor’s book The Ravenous Brain energetically argues that awareness, or consciousness, is a production of elaborate information processing. Bor describes the deep evolutionary roots of consciousness. The very complex human brain with its billions of neurons and connections has roots that can be traced back to the beginnings of life on earth. Through trial and error, our consciousness evolved to what it is now.
Daniel Bor’s book The Ravenous Brain energetically argues that awareness, or consciousness, is a production of elaborate information processing. Bor describes the deep evolutionary roots of consciousness. The very complex human brain with its billions of neurons and connections has roots that can be traced back to the beginnings of life on earth. Through trial and error, our consciousness evolved to what it is now.
In the introduction of the book,
Bor says: “There is nothing more important to us than our own awareness”. This statement becomes undeniable when we
think about what we consider a meaningful life to be. Brain death rather than
cardiac death is what we consider to be the end of a person. Until recently, it was though consciousness
could not be studied because of its complex and seemingly subjective
nature. Bor claims that the scientific
study of consciousness is possible because the brain and the way it processes
information is what enables our awareness.
Brain damage and mental illnesses often result in a change in
consciousness, which supports the argument that our awareness is no more than
the functioning of neurons.
I recently read a book written by a
journalist named Susannah Calahan titled Brain
on fire: My month of madness. In
this book she describes her experience with a newly discovered neurological
disease. She has no memory of the month
she was hospitalized, but since she is a journalist, she created this book by
piecing together information she gathered from friends and family. She experienced hallucinations, mood swings,
confusion and seizures. After having
gone to several doctors and having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and
alcoholism, she was diagnosed with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. It is caused by an autoimmune reaction
against NMDA receptors in the brain.
This receptor helps neurons communicate.
Calahan writes: “The
break between my consciousness and my physical body was now fully complete. In
essence, I was gone. . . . This was the beginning of my lost month of
madness.” The harmonious functioning of
the brain is what enables consciousness.
Disruptions to these processes can cause inexplicable changes to
awareness. Studying diseases like
Calahan’s can better the understanding we have of consciousness and the way our
brains produce it. Bor’s argument that
consciousness is nothing more than the functioning of the brain is supported by
cases like Calahan’s where awareness is lost because of a disruption to the
normal functioning of the brain.
Bor, D. (2012). The
ravenous brain:how the new science of consciousness explains our
insatiable
search for meaning.
NewYork: Basic Books.
Cahalan, S.
(2012). Brain on fire: My month of madness. New York: Free Press.
Lamas, D. J.
(2013, 5 27). When the brain is under attack: A new disease at the
crossroads
of psychiatry and neurology could help in the understanding of psychosis. The
Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/05/26/when-brain-attacks-newly-discovered-disease-can-mimic-psychosis/dyixxnwdHJJIUITsNYJC3O/story.html
Bor's point about consciousness being solely a function of the brain is indeed an interesting one. I think what causes problems for many people in not believing this idea comes from their inclination to combine consciousness with one's soul. Obviously it is easy and sensible to link these two together, yet believing the soul is the result of the brain is hard for many. What is scary to most is the idea that this can all be taken away simply by some injury to the brain. Our consciousness is our self, our identity, and our life. Without conscious awareness, as Calahan seems to explain, there appears to be nothing. What Bor argues and what cases like Calahan's support, is that our actual awareness of everything present all comes together in one experience as our consciousness and our consciousness is generated by our brain. With the current research being done I think we will begin to truly understand consciousness and a much deeper level and all it entails.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the comment made before mine. Be conscious allows one to identify themselves through their beliefs, and based off these ideologies their personalities are formed. Consciousness also allows us to relate to others with self awareness. This ability to communicate to others about our own realizations and compare it to theirs is lost. We as humans are social beings and without this trait of self awareness, we not only lose ourselves but a path to relate to others. I agree with Bor when he states that our awareness is the most important thing.
ReplyDeleteAs the other comments stated, our consciousness is what defines us. It is interesting to think that our brain equals our soul. As Calahan experienced, without her consciousness she was not herself. It could be seen as lucky or unlucky that she was able to piece together what happened to her during her "month of madness." Some people would now want to know how they acted when they weren't being herself. However, it is lucky for us that she was able to do so since it helps us understand more how the brain makes us who we are.
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