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Below are thought provoking statements about consciousness from "The Brain And The Inner World", by Solms and Turnbull. It is not the definitive work on the subject (what could be?) , but does a superb job of attempting to explain the almost ineffable interface between mind and matter as exhibited by inner subjective emotional and cognitive states as related to observed, real time physiological processes.

"...cognitive science is no different from any other branch of science. Physics.....is about abstractions like 'gravity', 'electricity', 'weak forces' and the like. These things too cannot be seen, but they are what physics is about."

-"The mind is an apparatus of nature like any other, and the 'mental apparatus' is the abstraction that lies behind it...."

-"But the mental apparatus has one unique attribute that distinguishes it from other parts of nature: It is the part of nature that we ourselves occupy. It is us."

The upshot is that self-awareness is as much a property of nature as electromagnetism or gravity. There is nothing verifiable in nature, of which we know, that can be cited to rule our universe as a simulation either in or out.

This subject has been discussed in excruciatingly exquisite detail on other threads here. But it continues to fascinate us for obvious reasons.

<blockquote data-quote="boomerang" data-source="post: 240761" data-attributes="member: 3872">Below are thought provoking statements about consciousness from&nbsp; &quot;The Brain And The Inner World&quot;,&nbsp; by Solms and Turnbull.&nbsp; It is not the definitive work on the subject (what could be?) , but does a superb job of attempting to explain the almost ineffable interface between mind and matter as exhibited by inner subjective emotional and cognitive states as related to observed, real time physiological processes.&nbsp; &quot;...cognitive science is no different from any other branch of science. Physics.....is about abstractions like &#039;gravity&#039;, &#039;electricity&#039;, &#039;weak forces&#039; and the like. These things too cannot be seen, but they are what physics is about.&quot;-&quot;The mind is an apparatus of nature like any other, and the &#039;mental apparatus&#039; is the abstraction that lies behind it....&quot;-&quot;But the mental apparatus has one unique attribute that distinguishes it from other parts of nature: It is the part of nature that we ourselves occupy.&nbsp; It is us.&quot;The upshot is that self-awareness is as much a property of nature as electromagnetism or gravity.&nbsp; There is nothing verifiable in nature, of which we know, that can be cited to rule our universe as a simulation either in or out. This subject has been discussed in excruciatingly exquisite detail on other threads here.&nbsp; But it continues to fascinate us for obvious reasons.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="boomerang, post: 240761, member: 3872"] Below are thought provoking statements about consciousness from "The Brain And The Inner World", by Solms and Turnbull. It is not the definitive work on the subject (what could be?) , but does a superb job of attempting to explain the almost ineffable interface between mind and matter as exhibited by inner subjective emotional and cognitive states as related to observed, real time physiological processes. "...cognitive science is no different from any other branch of science. Physics.....is about abstractions like 'gravity', 'electricity', 'weak forces' and the like. These things too cannot be seen, but they are what physics is[I] about[/I]." -"The mind is an apparatus of nature like any other, and the 'mental apparatus' is the abstraction that lies behind it...." -"But the mental apparatus has one unique attribute that distinguishes it from other parts of nature: [I]It is the part of nature that we ourselves occupy[/I]. It is[I] us[/I]." The upshot is that self-awareness is as much a property of nature as electromagnetism or gravity. There is nothing verifiable in nature, of which we know, that can be cited to rule our universe as a simulation either in or out. This subject has been discussed in excruciatingly exquisite detail on other threads here. But it continues to fascinate us for obvious reasons. [/QUOTE]

Verification