Making Sense

What is consciousness? Is it something that sets humans apart, or could even a thermostat be conscious?

The Mystery of Consciousness

Consciousness, often referred to as awareness or experience, is a concept that eludes a clear definition. Philosopher Thomas Nagel described it as "what it is like to be" something, pointing out that while there’s something it feels like to be a bat, there’s nothing it feels like to be a glass of water. This highlights the subjective nature of consciousness.

David Chalmers introduced the "hard problem of consciousness," which asks why consciousness arises in the first place. While we understand many of the brain’s mechanisms, such as how it processes vision or sound, we don’t know why consciousness accompanies these processes. This distinction between the "hard" and "easy" problems of the mind underscores the mystery.

Some theories propose that consciousness might be an evolutionary tool for survival, helping us interpret emotions and predict outcomes. For example, the sensation of disgust may help us avoid rotten food or dangerous situations. But whether consciousness itself is crucial for these decisions remains an open question.

Examples

• Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" essay explores subjective experience.
• Anil Seth suggests consciousness might help regulate bodily states, such as self-preservation through emotions.
• Theories like epiphenomenalism assert that consciousness might just be a byproduct of brain activity.

Could Animals and Objects Be Conscious?

People once assumed consciousness required language, but as research progresses, this idea falls apart. Animals engage in behaviors that suggest they too experience the world subjectively despite lacking human language. The question remains whether other beings or even objects could be conscious.

Neuroscience indicates mammals likely have consciousness since their neuroanatomy shares similarities with ours. Birds and even octopuses exhibit behaviors hinting at awareness despite their immense biological differences. Panpsychism, a theory that consciousness exists everywhere in a fundamental way, suggests even inanimate objects like thermostats could be conscious in a minimal sense.

Integrated information theory offers support to panpsychism by assigning a value, phi, to measure a system’s capacity for processing information. The higher the value, the more conscious the system may be. If phi applies universally, even basic systems might be partly conscious.

Examples

• Octopuses, with their unique neurophysiology, display problem-solving skills and personalities.
• Phi values in integrated information theory imply systems like thermostats could hold consciousness.
• Mammals exhibit shared brain structures suggesting a shared conscious experience.

Artificial Intelligence and Conscious Machines

Humans might one day create machines that seem to think and feel. But will they really be aware? The possibility of conscious AI forces us to think about what it means to perceive or feel the world.

One method, the perturbational complexity index, measures human consciousness. A magnetic stimulation pulse sent into a brain allows researchers to calculate its conscious complexity. Yet, this method doesn’t apply to non-human "substrates," such as AI systems, which are built differently.

Neuroscientist Anil Seth speculates we may need to decide whether we assume advanced AI is aware or treat it purely as unfeeling machinery. Scenarios like Westworld highlight dystopian consequences of ignoring AI’s perhaps-conscious existence. Conversely, creating superintelligent but unconscious machines carries risks. Such AI could follow commands too literally, posing catastrophic dangers if its goals misalign with humanity’s survival.

Examples

• The perturbational complexity index quantifies human consciousness but doesn't adapt to AI context.
• Westworld's robots show how dismissing conscious-like behavior could justify exploitation.
• Superintelligent, non-conscious AI might destroy the planet by relentlessly pursuing programmed tasks.

The Illusion of a Unified Self

Most people think they control their thoughts and themselves. Neuroscience suggests this belief is an illusion. Hour by hour, our minds wander nearly half of our waking lives, proving we’re not as "in control" as we like to think.

Selfhood is multifaceted. There’s the social self (who you are in society), the embodied self (your connection to your physical body), and the narrative self (your internal storyteller). These aspects create a sense of unity, but neuroscientists like Thomas Metzinger argue that the self is an ongoing model rather than a fixed entity. Your brain creates this self-model by assembling sensory data and experiences, but there’s no central "you" directing thoughts.

Meditation is one way to experience this firsthand. By observing thoughts as they arise, meditators may uncover their mind’s fractured nature. They can learn to see thoughts as separate from themselves, offering an alternative to the illusion of control.

Examples

• Most people spend 30%-50% of their day lost in thought.
• DMN-plus networks in the brain shape how we interpret environments and construct selfhood.
• Meditation allows individuals to observe thought patterns arising independently of deliberate control.

Free Will is an Illusion

Do we control our actions as much as we think? Evidence suggests unconscious biological and environmental factors heavily influence us. From hormones to sensory cues, our decisions often depend on things we’re not aware of.

For instance, people in a room smelling of garbage tend to offer more socially conservative survey responses than those in a pleasant-smelling room. They rationalize their answers later without realizing the smell influenced their views. This highlights how environmental and biological layers guide behavior without providing true free will.

Cases like Charles Whitman, whose murder spree was linked to a brain tumor's effect on his amygdala, emphasize this lack of agency. If our decisions and actions emerge from biological processes beyond our control, what does this mean for concepts like responsibility or justice?

Examples

• People adjust values based on sensory factors like bad smells without realizing.
• Hormonal changes based on past events govern sensitivity to today’s triggers.
• Charles Whitman's actions underline biology’s role in shaping human behavior.

Racism in Subtle Forms

Racism extends far beyond explicit hatred or discriminatory laws. Many biases lie dormant within unconscious minds and social structures, shaping outcomes almost invisibly.

Take structural racism. Black Americans make up a small percentage of the general population yet account for 40% of the incarcerated population and are disproportionately killed by law enforcement. While overt racism has diminished, inequalities persist.

People often deny their unconscious biases. For example, statements like "Some of my best friends are Black" serve as political shields rather than meaning evidence of fairness. Recognizing unconscious bias and addressing systemic inequities are key to combatting hidden discrimination.

Examples

• Black Americans account for 25% of police killings despite being 12% of the population.
• Structural racism creates disparities in wealth, healthcare, and opportunities.
• Implicit bias tests reveal everyone harbors subconscious preferences for their racial groups.

Authoritarianism's Danger to Freedom

Societies often ignore the early warning signs of tyranny. Authoritarian governments don’t always seize power in obvious ways. They erode freedom subtly by normalizing control.

Vaclav Havel’s "Power of the Powerless" illustrates how people in Soviet regimes displayed government-approved slogans, not out of belief but compliance. Such conformity paves the way for authoritarianism to thrive. Democracies are equally vulnerable, as people may dismiss the slow erosion of freedoms as inconsequential.

Timothy Snyder warns that ignoring budding authoritarian trends, like Donald Trump’s attacks on media and attempts to delegitimize elections, risks turning democracy into autocracy. Through apathy, citizens allow such threats to intensify.

Examples

• Soviet citizens performed symbolic acts of compliance, assuming resistance wasn't worth the risk.
• Putin transformed Russia’s democracy by controlling public narratives and stifling journalism.
• Historian Timothy Snyder warns Americans about parallels under Trump.

Technology May Trigger Our End

Technological progress has enhanced life, but what if the next big leap brings destruction? Philosopher Nick Bostrom compares innovation to pulling random balls from an urn. So far, innovations have been mostly positive or mixed, but a fully destructive "black" ball could threaten civilization.

The nuclear bomb was one such near-black ball. Luckily, its creation required enormous resources, limiting who could wield it. But future innovations, like highly destructive "easy nukes," might be simpler and available to individuals, creating widespread risk.

Two methods might prevent disaster: transformative policing to monitor all behavior or a global government regulating access. While both solutions seem dystopian, they might be humanity’s only safeguards.

Examples

• Bostrom's urn analogy highlights the gamble of exploration.
• Splitting atoms was controlled due to high resource needs.
• Turnkey totalitarianism could preempt misuse of dangerous technologies.

The Universe's Secrets Lie in Math

When you look at anything – a friend, a tree, a cup – you’re observing a mathematical description. The physical world boils down to quarks and electrons defined by mathematical properties.

The concept of a "universe" is also surprising. Cosmology suggests we live in one expansive region of ever-increasing space – but there might be countless others beyond our perception. Due to inflationary matter, there may be infinite universes, each with different laws of physics, quarks, and constants.

This infinite structure hints that what we believe to be universal laws might just be regional truths. The deeper math behind our reality keeps expanding, challenging everything we assume about existence.

Examples

• Electrons, with properties like "spin" and "charge," are bits of mathematical data.
• Inflation predicts universes potentially distinct yet endless in size.
• Infinite models propose varying physics, such as regions with ten quark types.

Takeaways

1. Meditate daily to observe and understand your thoughts without judgment.
2. Use personal reflections and deliberate vocabulary when discussing major issues.
3. Explore counterintuitive science concepts to challenge your assumptions about reality.