As consciousness beyond the body without any esotericism

If you believe that consciousness is related only to the human brain, you are mistaken. In fact, the brain activates the whole body in order to learn about the world around them. After reading this article, you may doubt the omnipotence of the body, but to re-evaluate the role played by the body.

How are the mind and body?

French philosopher Rene Descartes believed that consciousness - is the product of the small gland located in the center of the brain. Today, people tend to think that the mind is enclosed in the head. We know that everything we feel, understand and analyze the result of the brain. It is also known that different areas of the brain are responsible for different mental processes. Therefore, the belief that the mind and brain - it is the same thing, is beyond doubt.

I must admit that we feel as if mental processes are also enclosed in the body limits, or rather the brain. After all, modern man sees the brain as a machine for monitoring and behavior management. That a person has committed a particular act, the brain sends detailed instructions to muscles.

Very similar to how work robots, true? But if we consider the most sophisticated robots, we will see a more effective body control methods. It seems that the nature of them, too, knows. For example, robots are often used inertia to move the controllers and motors thus remain unused. This saves energy. To implement this scenario, the "brain" should actively cooperate with the "body."

All the above applies not only robots, but also human.

Our brain is actively cooperating with the body to understand the foundations of the world and use the basic principles for optimization of life. The more active we experience the world through the body, the rapid transition to a new stage of development.

Thus, the evolution of our consciousness is directly dependent on the body.

The French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty can meet this assumption. This philosophy considers the body and mind as a whole, and not the control center and the mechanism.

As the body helps develop consciousness?

If mind and body are interrelated, it is possible that consciousness is capable of going out and for the body of the border? Philosophers Andy Clark and David Chalmers suggested that a person can use external tools as part of the mental process.

Clark and Chalmers proposed to call it the principle of parity. He says: if an external tool performs a function that we can describe as a psychic (Even if it takes place outside of the brain), we should consider this tool part consciousness.

To illustrate this idea, Clark and Chalmers offered the following example. Two men trying to lay down a mosaic composed of pieces of different shapes. One of them does it in his head to mentally rotate each piece of the puzzle and try to understand, it is suitable or not. The second does the same thing, but with a computer: he presses a button and a piece of the screen is rotated. Here what matters is what is happening with the object. And then, where is the piece of the puzzle, it does not matter.

Therefore, the role of consciousness can take on any object capable of performing mental functions.

If you train long enough and turn the puzzle piece and mentally, and on the computer, you will be able to collect puzzle in his mind. This means that the brain interaction and tools helps to develop consciousness.

What other tools are developing consciousness?

Language - is another powerful tool, if we consider it from the point of view of the evolution of consciousness. Andy Clark notes that the language helps the brain to learn those things which he could not comprehend.

• Records - is a way to capture what is happening and watch the world go by. In this case, the language helps monitor.
• Structured offer to teach a person to focus on relationships, presented the concept of logic and abstract thinking developed.

Using other tools, such as pen and paper or notebook, we are able to construct a multi-dimensional speculative and logical structure, which would never have been able to build with the help of only one thinking. These tools allow you to implement the process of waking thought.

Our knowledge also can be stored outside the body and mind will be able to use them. A good example is given by Andy Clark and David Chalmers.

They propose to introduce a character. Let's call him Oleg. He suffers from Alzheimer's disease and gets a notebook, which records all their actions on the day. Oleg If you need to remember the address, it refers not to memory, but to the notebook. Oleg knowledge recorded in this book, and the consciousness of "connected" to it whenever he needs something to remember.

Notebook works as an external storage drive, connected with Oleg consciousness. It is true that this relationship was real, it is necessary to Oleg always carried a notebook with him, he could figure out their own records and believed what he wrote.

Philosopher Daniel Dennett notes that many elderly people are in the same state as the hypothetical Oleg. They rely on tips that remind us what to do, when and how. Everyday.

Therefore, the consciousness in the form of memories and knowledge and may well extend beyond the body - on the objects, tools, things.

To summarize

It seems that our consciousness extends much further than we imagine. To think that the mind contained in the brain - is very shortsighted. We think so only because the main sense organs (eyes, ears, nose) are located on the head. But, as we have just learned, the brain activates the whole body in order to learn about the world around, to react and to acquire new knowledge. And in some cases, consciousness extends beyond the body, using external tools.