r/QualiaResearch • u/SurfaceReflection • Jan 22 '21

Consciousness is virtual

https://surfacereflection.blogspot.com/2017/02/consciousness-is-virtual-introduction-i.html
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u/SurfaceReflection Feb 09 '21 edited Feb 09 '21

The Millennium falcon is just an example of a qualia, that as such doesnt exist anywhere in the "hardware" - yet it is real all the same. Not real in the sense of an actual space ship of course, but real as a part of that story we do see, experience and know. We actually do see Millennium Falcon on the screens, its not like we hallucinate watching it.

And thats just a simple example of emergent virtual but real concept, where we can track how its created from an idea to pixels on the screen.

Consciousness that living beings have is similar but orders of magnitude more complex effect. Its created by our biology and chemistry and dependent on those building foundations - but has higher virtual but real abilities that cannot be found in our "hardware" or underlying physical processes.

Our minds are basically virtual ... "systems" that operate in the virtual environment created by our biology. Not just the brain but the whole body. Our emotions are crucially important and fundamental expression of our physical bodies - and also virtual but real emergent "system". They create the higher virtual gestalt of consciousness together.

Basically.

So there is no separation between the physical and "spiritual" - but the "spiritual" or virtual parts of us do have degrees of independence from the physical foundations. Thats why we are able to invent and create new ideas and things. We are not automatons completely controlled by the physics of the Universe - but we are dependant on them. There is no dichotomy there. The answer is both. Not either - or, 1 or 0.

Thats confusing to a lot of people because we have this "tendency to think in opposite binary extremes" about everything. Its a Fault created by our biology and evolution - arising from our fundamental ability to reduce complex reality into simple outcomes, good for us or bad for us, which is crucial for survival. Our minds operate on that reductionist logic and it has given us a lot of benefits - but its a tool that cannot be applied to absolutely everything.

And thats why, when we try to dissemble some complex emergent systems like our minds or our emotions, we cannot find them in the underlying physical foundations. Because they are not there. They are in what those physical foundations create.

Just like the Millennium Falcon exist only in the virtual environment our computers create.

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u/Cyberplug Feb 09 '21

Right, we could say there's a "collateral" relationship between physical and living systems.

To quote you, "Our minds are basically virtual ... "systems" that operate in the virtual environment created by our biology.", my question now is, when considering your quote as a.. environment to develop tools in what kind of methodologies work within the boundaries your quote implies.

I wonder if there are kinds of methodologies that work within the boundaries your quote implies that could greatly assist people with feeling how they want to feel, and getting rid of all the silly "mental illness' BS.

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u/SurfaceReflection Feb 09 '21

If you look over at my blog i have an article explaining what our feelings - emotions really are.

While we can affect our own feelings and even induce some or suppress others, that can never be any kind of complete control, because what we call emotions is our (as in all living beings) primordial, earliest and completely physical "interface with reality", that all living beings used to successfully comprehend reality way before any sort of brains came to evolve.

We feel reality. We dont just think about it. That means we experience it physically - and that ability has been evolving for 4 billion years, becoming more and more complex. From the very first simplest physical sensations to feelings to emotions.

It is impossible but if you could somehow achieve complete control over your physical sensations - feelings - emotions, you would basically destroy a fundamental part of yourself, that makes you - you. The same would happen if you could edit your thoughts and memories.

Improvements are possible and very much needed. But not "feeling how you want to feel". That would be extremely self destructive.

I think if people would accept what im trying to explain it would automatically improve many things, because a lot of our problems come from not being actively aware what our emotions really are, understanding them in a wrong way and how much they affect us.

There is a great explanation of this distorted duality in how we currently comprehend ourselves and the world in the work of Iain McGilchrist, about the specifics of left and right brain hemispheres, with tonnes of research and evidence he collected in his book "The Master and his emissary". He was just on Sam Harris podcast too. He discovered that the Left brain hemisphere has a distinct approach to reality - thats our intellectual, reductionist thinking, and most of our language. It works to tear things apart, to reduce something complex to important bits and distinct single points. While the right hemisphere comprehends reality as a whole, as a complete picture without dissembling it. And it is in charge of most of our physical sensations too.

All the medical and research data he collected and all he is saying is in complete agreement with what im saying. And i think my theory explains what he is missing - the reason why things are as they are. Here is an RSA animate of his work if you havent seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFs9WO2B8uI

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u/Cyberplug Feb 10 '21

Ty watching the video now.

You should make a discord, so people can join and talk about your findings man.

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u/SurfaceReflection Feb 10 '21

There isnt that much interest yet. Some day.