Why is it that nobody, not even the greatest minds of all time, can solve the mystery of consciousness? It’s such an interesting topic to discover, and possibly, provide answers to. As it intertwines with the soul, is it safe to say that we have evidence based on science that prove we have souls? There in fact isn’t. Sorry readers. Were you excited as I was just now? Probably not, since I made the joke in the first place. Anyway, let’s re-direct our focus.
The definition of consciousness, according to Meriam, is “a person’s mind and thoughts”. Although this is one of the simplest definitions, look at the words “mind” and “thoughts”. I recently found out that the mind (don’t judge me) is different from the brain. While a mind is the part of the person that thinks, feels, reasons, as well as remembers, the brain is the organ of the body in the head that controls functions, movements, as well as sensations. Notice how the brain, to be succinct, involves the tangibles, while the mind is more focused on the intangible. Even if you split a brain in half, you can’t see the thoughts that are inside of it. This concept of “thought” is more associated with the mind, which may not even be in the head with the brain. Although they both perform similar actions, there is a very small amount of sources that confirm the mind is actually in your head. Wow.
So where is the mind? This introduces the concept of the soul. With the soul being the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever, the mind has a similar function. However, the mind is closely related to objective matters that tend to stray away from religion and spirituality. With both intertwined, it’s kind of hard to distinguish the mind from the soul since both belong to the realm of intangible thought. With that said, how can we cope with the idea that nobody knows, or can accurately explain, the mystery of consciousness? We have a lump of wrinkly, pinkish beige tissue that weighs 1.48kg and gives everyone hell when trying to solve it. With neuro-transmitters, amygdales and prefrontal cortexes, we can calculate certain functions pretty well. However, the science we are using obviously doesn’t suffice, given the question that is still being asked since Plato and Socrates.
How can we make a leap in science and try to answer the questions that have been asked for centuries? First, we must consider the side of philosophy, which pretty much is the mother that spawned these interesting but confusing questions. With philosophers saying that the body is mis-direction, it’s safe to say that not all of us trust our instincts. With the soul being something philosophers play with, they whole heartedly believe in the soul and think that the body is a shell that contains the soul inside. So, in summation, what is consciousness, and how can we reach the aforementioned conclusions?
