Does Consciousness Extend Beyond Brains? // debate, the three speakers were selected because they question long-held dogmas of modern science in their own way
Here is a summary of how the structure of the debate was explained:
- Typically in debates like this, there is a “defender of the faith” who lays out the accepted truths and certainties.
- There is also usually a “heretic” who argues that nothing is agreed upon and all supposed certainties are questionable.
- Often there is a third more moderate voice to find common ground between the other two.
- However, for this debate the organizers decided to only have “heretics” who challenge conventional scientific assumptions.
- The three speakers were selected because they question long-held dogmas of modern science in their own way.
- They are not there just to disagree with the mainstream or each other, but to shed light on why they disagree.
- The moderator says people accept or reject ideas based on the collateral damage to their worldview. If an idea forces you to give up another idea you don’t want to, people will reject it.
So the structure here is unique in having only speakers who challenge the scientific establishment, rather than including defenders of mainstream science. The goal is to understand their reasons for disagreeing, not just to oppose the conventional wisdom.
Here are the key points from the conversation between the three speakers at the Holberg Debate on the question “Does consciousness extend beyond the brain?”:
- Anil Seth, a neuroscientist, argued that consciousness emerges from brain activity, though the relationship between the two remains mysterious. He believes consciousness is a “controlled hallucination” produced by the brain to help regulate and control the body. While he thinks the mind can extend beyond the brain through things like technology, he doesn’t believe consciousness itself extends beyond the brain.
- Tanya Luhrmann, an anthropologist, discussed how humans experience thoughts as beyond their control or outside their minds, like hearing voices. She argued these experiences are common across cultures and can be induced through practices like prayer. She claimed the way people imagine the boundary between mind and world affects how porous they believe it to be.
- Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist, argued for an “extended mind” that stretches beyond the brain through invisible fields. He believes consciousness is related to, but not produced by, the brain. As evidence, he cited the sense of being stared at and telepathy. He advocated for a pansychist view that consciousness exists at all levels of nature.
- They disagreed on whether consciousness actually extends beyond the brain, with Seth skeptical and Sheldrake convinced. But all three speakers emphasized the importance of taking subjective human experiences seriously, even if their explanations differed. There was some common ground around the importance of self-organizing systems for life and mind.
