Statements on Consciousness

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The Posthuman Manifesto

2. Statements on Consciousness and Philosophy

If consciousness is a property which emerges from a specific set of conditions, in order to synthesise it we do not need to re-model it from the "top-down". We only need to recreate the conditions from which it might emerge. This requires an understanding of what those conditions are.

2.1. Consciousness is not exclusively restricted to the brain.

2.2. Consciousness is the function of an organism, not an organ.

2.3. One does not understand consciousness by studying the brain alone.

2.4. The mind and the body act together to produce consciousness. If one is absent consciousness ceases. There is no pure thought, isolated from a body. In order to function the brain must be connected to a body, even if the body is artificial. Consciousness is an effect which arises through the co-operation of a brain and body. We think with our whole body.

2.5. Consciousness can only be considered as an emergent property. In this sense it is like boiling. Given sufficient heat, gravity and air pressure the water in a kettle will start to boil. We can see what boiling is, we can recognise it as something to which we give a name. We do not consider it mysterious. Yet we cannot isolate it from the conditions which produced it. Consciousness is a property which emerges from a given set of conditions.

2.6. To say that conscious thought is not exclusively a function of the brain, does not deny that the brain has a significant part to play.

2.7. Human bodies have no boundaries.

2.8. No finite division can be drawn between the environment, the body and the brain. The human is identifiable, but not definable.

2.9. Consciousness (Mind) and the environment (Reality) cannot be separated. They are integrally linked.

2.10. There is nothing external to a human, because the extent of a human cannot be fixed.

2.11. If we accept that the mind and body cannot be absolutely separated, and that the body and the environment cannot be absolutely separated then we are left with the apparently absurd, yet logically consistent, conclusion that: consciousness and the environment cannot be absolutely separated.

2.12. First we had God, Humans and Nature. The Rationalists dispensed with God leaving Humans in perpetual conflict with Nature. The Post_Humanists dispense with Humans leaving only Nature. The distinction between God, Nature and Humanity does not represent any eternal truth about the human condition. It merely reflects the prejudices of the societies which maintained the distinction.

2.13. Idealistic and Materialistic philosophical views both assume a division between the thing that thinks and the thing that is thought about - between the internal mind (brain) and external reality (environment). Remove this division and both views become redundant.

2.14. The Idealists think that the only things that exist are ideas, the Materialists think that the only thing that exists is matter. It must be remembered that ideas are not independent of matter and that matter is just an idea.

2.15. Most philosophical problems are debates about language. They arise because of the mistaken assumptions that, a) language is consistent and, b) that because a word exists there must exist a 'thing' which it represents and, c) that the things which are represented should, in themselves, be consistent.

2.16. Post_Humans never get bogged down in arguments about language. The Scholars and Humanists will always try to restrict debate to the battleground of language because they know no-one can win.

2.17. Scholastic Philosophers are disqualified from saying anything of interest. We need recombination - not regurgitation.

2.18. Logic is an illusion of Human imagination. Truth and Falsity do not exist in Nature - other that in Human thought.

© Robert Pepperell

The Posthuman Manifesto 2. Statements on Consciousness and Philosophy
If consciousness is a property which emerges from a specific set of conditions, in order to synthesise it we do not need to re-model it from the "top-down". We only need to recreate the conditions from which it might emerge. This requires an understanding of what those conditions are. 2.1. Consciousness is not exclusively restricted to the brain. 2.2. Consciousness is the function of an organism, not an organ. 2.3. One does not understand consciousness by studying the brain alone. 2.4. The mind and the body act together to produce consciousness. If one is absent consciousness ceases. There is no pure thought, isolated from a body. In order to function the brain must be connected to a body, even if the body is artificial. Consciousness is an effect which arises through the co-operation of a brain and body. We think with our whole body. 2.5. Consciousness can only be considered as an emergent property. In this sense it is like boiling. Given sufficient heat, gravity and air pressure the water in a kettle will start to boil. We can see what boiling is, we can recognise it as something to which we give a name. We do not consider it mysterious. Yet we cannot isolate it from the conditions which produced it. Consciousness is a property which emerges from a given set of conditions. 2.6. To say that conscious thought is not exclusively a function of the brain, does not deny that the brain has a significant part to play. 2.7. Human bodies have no boundaries. 2.8. No finite division can be drawn between the environment, the body and the brain. The human is identifiable, but not definable. 2.9. Consciousness (Mind) and the environment (Reality) cannot be separated. They are integrally linked. 2.10. There is nothing external to a human, because the extent of a human cannot be fixed. 2.11. If we accept that the mind and body cannot be absolutely separated, and that the body and the environment cannot be absolutely separated then we are left with the apparently absurd, yet logically consistent, conclusion that: consciousness and the environment cannot be absolutely separated. 2.12. First we had God, Humans and Nature. The Rationalists dispensed with God leaving Humans in perpetual conflict with Nature. The Post_Humanists dispense with Humans leaving only Nature. The distinction between God, Nature and Humanity does not represent any eternal truth about the human condition. It merely reflects the prejudices of the societies which maintained the distinction. 2.13. Idealistic and Materialistic philosophical views both assume a division between the thing that thinks and the thing that is thought about - between the internal mind (brain) and external reality (environment). Remove this division and both views become redundant. 2.14. The Idealists think that the only things that exist are ideas, the Materialists think that the only thing that exists is matter. It must be remembered that ideas are not independent of matter and that matter is just an idea. 2.15. Most philosophical problems are debates about language. They arise because of the mistaken assumptions that, a) language is consistent and, b) that because a word exists there must exist a 'thing' which it represents and, c) that the things which are represented should, in themselves, be consistent. 2.16. Post_Humans never get bogged down in arguments about language. The Scholars and Humanists will always try to restrict debate to the battleground of language because they know no-one can win. 2.17. Scholastic Philosophers are disqualified from saying anything of interest. We need recombination - not regurgitation. 2.18. Logic is an illusion of Human imagination. Truth and Falsity do not exist in Nature - other that in Human thought.

	© Robert Pepperell
	© Robert Pepperell