{"id":17182,"date":"2024-09-01T13:24:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T13:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/?p=17182"},"modified":"2024-09-20T13:25:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T13:25:56","slug":"consciousness-is-no-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/consciousness\/consciousness-is-no-magic","title":{"rendered":"Consciousness is No Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many people, including researchers, often regard consciousness as mysterious, almost magical. Yet, there’s nothing magical about it. Understanding consciousness requires a clear, grounded approach.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Of course, \u2018consciousness\u2019 is a conceptual cloud\u2014an umbrella term for various ideas, used differently by people or even by the same person in different contexts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There is no magic in that cloud.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nor is there a need for it, as reality itself is inherently fascinating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People search for magical explanations because they don\u2019t sufficiently appreciate themselves as they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wateriness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What gives water its wateriness? There\u2019s no “wateriness” in individual H2O molecules, no matter how many you have. So, is wateriness a mysterious feature? Is there magic in the simple water we drink every day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the essence of wateriness some ungraspable “thing” that defies understanding? Is it a hard problem, one that remains unsolvable no matter how much effort we invest?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the \u2018hard problem of consciousness\u2019?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, everything is like consciousness, and everything is a hard problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pondiness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A tiny bit closer to our aim of understanding consciousness as non-magical is a pond. The surface of a pond doesn\u2019t exist independently of what\u2019s beneath it. Similarly, what appears at the surface is constantly changing, much like the flow from the deeper mind to consciousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, is the pond that you see a mystery? Is every pond a magical pond?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the word loses its meaning \u2014 otherwise, no magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visual illusions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, we sometimes see things that aren\u2019t there. We perceive “it” \u2013 like bent lines when only straight ones exist \u2013 due to quirks in our visual system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the \u2018it\u2019 is nowhere but in perception. The couple of bent lines doesn\u2019t exist, and yet you see\/experience \u2018it.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that you experience consciousness doesn\u2019t mean it exists. It may be a quirk of your mind\/brain. It then exists no more than does pondiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can work with consciousness as with any concept, whether it points to something real or not. The concept may feel very real, but that doesn\u2019t prove anything. Certainly, no magic is involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phantom limbs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also a quirk of the mind\/brain. Cutting it short, 90% of people who have lost a limb still feel it sometime afterward. While the limb isn\u2019t there, the experience is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience doesn\u2019t regenerate the limb \u2014 no magic involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, even a profound experience doesn\u2019t make \u2018it\u2019 real outside of the experience itself. In other words, the existence is confined to the experience \u2014 no magic involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are some examples of experiences that can go even very deep without reality being involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, it\u2019s tricky to relate reality to them. It becomes even more tricky if a deep wanting is involved, especially one on an existential level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consciousness in life \u2014 drive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until now, we know consciousness only in living things \u2014 unless in panpsychism, where it\u2019s projected everywhere, but that is, in my view, a no-brainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to life. Life on Earth (and probably elsewhere) started with a drive for self-preservation. Of course, in a bacterium, the drive shows differently than in us. This desire to imbue consciousness with magic stems from a deep-rooted drive to ease existential fears and find meaning. Two remarks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n