What is "Mind?"

MH2

climber

Jun 12, 2014 - 05:54pm PT
Ward,

Did you look into the credentials and publications of David D. Olmsted?

"Animals are very good at learning from their own experience, or via observing the effects of others (social learning)," he said. "But so far only humans appear to be able to simply observe an effect in the world, and, without reference to their own behaviour or other humans, then create a novel behaviour to cause the effect."

most evolutionary arguments have to answer the question how the energy required to "build" and "operate" this structure is compensated for by having it.

Adaptations that prove beneficial to species survival get passed on until they're no longer advantageous.

Ward, thanks for the reference to the Scientific American article summarizing all the meditation and brain studies.

Consciousness is an enigmatic beast. It’s more than mere awareness – it’s how we experience the world, how our subjective experience relates to the objective universe around us. And therein lies the rub, in that tiny little word “how.” These kinds of questions were once the province of philosophy, religion or perhaps fantasy, but within the last few decades, neuroscientists have added a scientific voice to the discussion, using available medical technology to explore just what separates so-called “mind” from brain. How do the neural and chemical workings of our brains create our minds, our total experience of the world, our thoughts and feelings, and that sense of self that distinguishes the individual from everyone else? In this eBook, The Secrets of Consciousness, we look at what science has to say about one of humankind’s most fundamental, existential mysteries. We begin at the beginning, as they say, with Section 1 on the very nature of consciousness and move on to discuss theories of neural development. In one article, author David Chalmers calls this the “hard problem,” requiring an entirely new theory that places consciousness itself as a fundamental component akin to the forces of physics. In another, leading neuroscientists Christof Koch and Susan Greenfield debate exactly how the neurons and circuits in the brain create conscious awareness. Later sections go deeper into the rabbit hole and examine what we can learn from altered states such as hypnosis or anesthesia as well as the use of formerly blacklisted hallucinogens such as LSD as healing drugs. Gary Stix discusses one study on the possible therapeutic effects of LSD on the intense anxiety experienced by patients with life-threatening disease, such as cancer. Finally, Section 6 explores “The Enigma of Spirituality.” David Biello takes on the search in his article, “God in the Brain,” highlighting studies searching for specific neurological centers of spirituality. It’s been said before, but the brain is the final frontier. Just how that brain creates not only awareness, but also integrates that awareness into creating experiences, memories, and an enduring sense of self—well, it might take overhauling not only how we study ourselves, but how we define our reality in the process of looking.

I'm not sure I understand what is meant by this assertion:
"Certianly the enviroment is the sole persuader in the evolution of the Brain."

well, it might take overhauling not only how we study ourselves, but how we define our reality in the process of looking.

...there ain't no bearded blonde white man in the sky