• Question: What is the biological basis of consciousness?

    Asked by docryan to Hermine, Katy, Laura, Nathalie, Paula on 16 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Hermine Schnetler

      Hermine Schnetler answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Consciousness is what brings all the particles together and allows an object to live. Like yourself, your consciousness brings the particles together to allow your blood to flow and to allow your mind to think and dream. Or the computer you are at, the energy flows through it allowing it to live in a sense therefore it is concious because of the energy flowing through it. It is not biological as such.

      Another argument could be the chemistry in your brain of neurons acting together to bring you life.

    • Photo: Nathalie Pettorelli

      Nathalie Pettorelli answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Hi there,

      Did you know that this very same question was the title of an article in Science some years ago? 🙂 That question is far from being solved – and has triggered scientific and philosophical interests for centuries. And, like every good questions, it is far from being answered – I think more evidence is accumulated that there is a biological basis for consciousness, but where it sits and how it works is far from being elucidated…

    • Photo: Katy Mee

      Katy Mee answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Now, i don’t actually know the answer to this (way too deep a question for me). I could simply point you to something on the internet (I think this might be the article Nathalie is referring to):

      http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5731/79

      ….but then you could look that up yourself, so i thought i’d put the question to the floor (i.e. ask my coleagues at work) and see who could come up with the most imaginative answer and this was the winner (Helen, 28 from leicester):

      “Biological consciousness is a natural state of existence, whereby the minimal amount of communication and head nodding are applied (by you) in order to convince your teacher that you are (a) still listening and (b) enjoying their lesson. This is a tactic used in order to avert any question answering/input on your behalf. This state of minimal exertion enables your brain to switch off (or start day dreaming about ice cream) whilst your eyes continue to give the impression that you are still (just about) alive…..you may have experienced this in your [insert name of your least favourite subject here] classes”.
      😉

    • Photo: Laura Dixon

      Laura Dixon answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      That’s actually a really tough question that scientists have been and are still debating! Consciousness can be described as being aware of oneself and having subjective (personal) experiences.

    • Photo: Paula Salgado

      Paula Salgado answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Hi docryan

      Well, that’s a question that has kept scientists, philosophers and everyone busy for a long time.

      Dr Antonio Damasio, a proeminent portuguese neurobiologist has studied this in detail and his theory is now widely studied and discussed.

      He breaks the idea of consciousness into two parts:

      1. ‘core consciousness’ which is the direct moment-by-moment attention in the acquisition of knowledge. He proposes that this is a fundamental brain function, and therefore is likely to be shared by, and could be studied in, non-human and even non-primate species.

      2. Extended consciousness that starts with core consciousness and incorporates memory and other faculties to produce the autobiographical knowledge that makes up human personality and identity

      If you really are interested in the subject, I recommend reading his book

      http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-What-Happens-Emotion-Consciousness/dp/0099288761/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276719768&sr=8-1

      or one of his interviews here:

      http://www.biosynthesis.org/html/antonio_damasio.html

      Long answer, I know… but it’s a fascinating subject! 😉

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