Comments on: The Hard Problem of Consciousness

By: J. Cilliers

J. Cilliers — Tue, 05 May 2015 21:30:30 +0000

I am no scientist, just a mere missionary but Francis Schaeffer’s views helped me – even if I don’t comprehend everything yet he says. But I would say the root or origin of it all is that man has been created in the image of God (Gen1:26, 27) and so since God is a conscious being we are inherently as well (and we will never be able to analyze and clarify it on pure scientific basis) – and so we also are personal and able to relate – to God and to other personal beings such as people, angels, Satan and demons. I think the main goal and end of consciousness / personality is to relate – to God first and then to others. Without consciousness we would not be able to perceive, observe, think, create, relate, enjoy etc. We would then be sub-human, impersonal and limited.

By: Bruce Sanders

Bruce Sanders — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 06:03:04 +0000

The following are excerpts from the July 2, 2014 issue of New Scientist:

“ONE moment you’re conscious, the next you’re not. For the first time, researchers have switched off consciousness by electrically stimulating a single brain area … the claustrum … a thin, sheet-like structure that lies hidden deep inside the brain.”

“When the team zapped the area with high frequency electrical impulses, the woman lost consciousness. She stopped reading and stared blankly into space, she didn’t respond to auditory or visual commands and her breathing slowed. As soon as the stimulation stopped, she immediately regained consciousness with no memory of the event. The same thing happened every time the area was stimulated during two days of experiments.”

The results of this experiment join a long list of amazing neural discoveries published in back issues of New Scientist. Going forward, I highly recommend that Reformed readers sign up for a subscription.

By: Eric Chabaneix

Eric Chabaneix — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 18:45:50 +0000

Edwards’ work on the affections has, in my opinion, a lot to say about the nature of consciousness, at least by implication. Part I of Religious Affections “Concerning the Nature of Affections . . . ” is particularly insightful in as much as Edwards’ deals with one’s understanding, inclination, desire, and will, among other things. Edwards reminds us that consciousness is not seated in the body, in our biology, but primarily in one’s soul. My two cents. Anyways, as Camden wrote, “We could use more Reformed theologians and philosophers committing their minds and energy to “hard problems” like these.”

Eric

By: "lee n. field"

"lee n. field" — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 16:21:04 +0000

Can I toss a monkey wrench in here?

Peter Watts recent novel science fiction novel Blindsight deals with questions of consciousness and sentience. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_%28Watts_novel%29

http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm (free to read online).

Worth a read. IMHO, YMMV.