INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS CONCERNING
MODERN PHILOSOPHICAL REALITY
Essay Three
Why Am I Special?
In October, 2009, NASA scientists exploded a missile on the surface of the moon in an effort to discover water in ice form beneath the moon's surface. The existence of water on the moon would mean much easier and cheaper colonization of that desolate orb. Being a thinker, which is something I enjoy doing at almost no cost, I wondered what makes water so special for most forms of life as we know it? By itself, pure water is not alive, but yet water promotes life to the extent that very little life exists without it.
Since thinking costs so little for me to do, I did some more. What IS water? After some deliberation, I concluded that water consists of multiple identical molecules, each individual molecule containing one atom of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen all chemically bound together. Both types of atoms consist of protons and electrons, with the addition of neutrons in oxygen. Therefore water is made up of protons, electrons, and neutrons. With a little more inexpensive thought, I realized that gold consists of protons, electrons, and neutrons also. And so does dirt, cars, fence posts, air, and everything else, I thought. Everything physically existing consists of protons, electrons, and/or neutrons, or the energy resulting from proton, electron, and/or neutron interactions.
I enjoy thinking because it's cheap, but that doesn't necessarily make me a good, competent thinker. Maybe that's why it's cheap. Anyway, I arrived at the unusually befuddling conclusion that all stable matter, including my own body, consists of some combination of protons, electrons, and/or neutrons. Both water and gold are the same, just different. The only difference between water and gold is the number and arrangement of protons, electrons, and neutrons. I must confess that in idle moments, I still find myself wondering in awe about the majestically complex simplicity of the proton, electron, and neutron substrate of existence.
It occurs to me, as I sit here thinking, that something abstract and indefinite distinguishes me as an entity, despite being constituted of those same old protons, electrons, and neutrons. I am a conscious being, capable of thought, feelings, and awareness. Non-living pure water is merely deterministic. A collection of water molecules in a beaker will be liquid between 33 degrees Fahrenheit and 211 degrees Fahrenheit. Fluid properties of water are not optional in this temperature range because they are determined by the physical nature of the water molecules formed by hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Likewise, the freezing of liquid water into cold, solid ice below 32 degrees Fahrenheit is not optional. These physical properties of water are deterministic, with no conscious free will or choice involved in the interaction of atoms and molecules.
Most inanimate activity is determined by the unconscious nature of subatomic and molecular interactions, including candle flames, activity inside of stars, volcanic activity below the earth’s surface, and the complex, semi-predictable atmospheric perturbations of weather. Human beings, on the other hand, have conscious freedom of choice when deciding on an action to take. Consciousness makes people a special kind of entity in the universe.
Protons, electrons, and neutrons form atoms, which then form molecules, which in turn form living cells, which in turn form the organs, muscles, bones, tissues, fluids, and nervous system of my human body. This complex assortment of atoms comprises a sentient human being, the archetype of conscious matter. Conscious matter is a miraculous product of the universe. The eventual emergence of conscious matter was possible at the original inception of the universe, built in from the outset. Comparing the number of atoms inside 6.5 billion people with the number of atoms inside the entire solar system, I realize I am rare conscious matter.
What IS consciousness? You can see I'm addicted to thinking. I just can't help it, although my thinking consists of more questions than answers. The real question is how do we, as entities of conscious matter, acquire and process accurate information about the universe in which we live. Living cells inside our bodies are not conscious themselves. They react to and respond to their environment in a no nonsense deterministic manner.
When a neuron releases a neurotransmitter molecule called dopamine, and it encounters a receptor site on another neuron, the resulting interaction is the transfer of a neuro-active molecule from one neuron to another neuron in a direct fashion determined by factors in the immediate surrounding environment. The molecule in question, dopamine, has no conscious choices to make or alternatives to take as it moves from neuron to neuron. All the information for its interaction is contained in its physical constitution and the electrochemical nature of its immediate environment. Biochemical interactions inside and between living cells are determined by chemical information encoded in the physical nature of the molecules and cellular structures. No choices and no options.
Human consciousness operates on a higher level, or maybe it's better to say a different layer, of the human organism's complex biochemical structure. It is true that dopamine activity at the inter-neuron level affects conscious thoughts and feelings, and likewise conscious thoughts and feelings can affect dopamine activity, but cognitive neuro-scientists still have a long way to go to establish the exact nature of the link between consciousness and neurobiology.
Experience is a vital part of how subconscious and conscious awareness develop and evolve. You can tell a child not to touch a candle flame, but that does not teach the lesson like the experience of pain does when the candle flame is inevitably touched. Experience teaches this lesson unforgettably, and much of life's lessons are unfortunately learned through experience. If youngsters would just listen to wiser, more experienced older people (like me and you, right?), then learning would be a lot easier and less traumatic. But almost everyone must see for themselves through personal experience, if they ever see at all.
Experience alters the subconscious and conscious mind by physiologically changing active neural networks in the brain. New active networks may be formed by new experiences, and old neural networks either dwindle from lack of use or are reinforced by repeated experiences. The following is a thought-experiment that illustrates the effects of experience on the human mind and brain.
Suppose that Bob has been working on Mars and is ready to come back to Earth for a vacation to visit family and friends. The futuristic Martian teleporter will send his body back to Earth at the speed of light, which will only take a few minutes from Mars. Unfortunately, the teleporter malfunctions and sends a copy of Bob to Earth while leaving the original Bob on Mars. Now there are two identical Bobs, Bob 1 on Mars and Bob 2 on Earth.
From that moment on, each Bob will have different experiences, and their identical brains and minds will begin to diverge. Bob 1 decides he no longer trusts the teleporter and waits for the next available flight to Earth, which will be several months away. In the meantime, he continues to work. Bob 2, however, goes on vacation and decides to learn the game of golf. He begins golfing daily. During one golf game a thunderstorm comes up and Bob 2 runs under the cover of a nearby tree to get out of the rain. Lightning strikes the tree and scares Bob tremendously. Although he is unharmed physically, Bob 2 is shaken by the experience and will never again run under a tree to get out of the rain.
When Bob 1 finally gets back to Earth, he will not be as skilled at golf as Bob 2, and Bob 1 may run under a tree in the rain whereas Bob 2 would not because of his experience with lightning. What once were two physiologically and consciously identical minds have diverged in both physiology and associated consciousness. Many habits, memories, thoughts, and feelings will remain the same, or similar, for the two Bobs in this imaginary experiment, but differences in neural networks, the physiological basis of their subconscious and conscious minds, will increase with time and non-shared experiences.
Well, I've got to mow the lawn now, but you can bet I will be thinking while I mow. I'm addicted and just can't stop, but at least I seldom get bored. Do a little more thinking yourself when you can find the time. In my opinion, too much thinking is better than too little. Individual thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and memories energize the magic of conscious human existence. Treat your family and friends like the rare conscious matter they are. Now, what IS gravity?
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