Exploring Human Consciousness and Behavior

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PART II - UPPER RIGHT Are you JUST your brain? Is there more to you or is that it? Part I focused on the inner world of our experiences Part II will look at us as a mechanism - a scientific fact But first, a reminder...

Part I - the interior individual • Subjective experiences • Thoughts • Emotions • Values Part II - the exterior individual • Objective facts • Behaviours • Biological processes • Observable If they are both about the individual, what is the difference?

Part I focused on the individual's experiences - what it FELT like to be sad. This required a conversation to interpret the language Part II focuses on the exterior of the individual - what is the brain DOING when you are sad This requires objective scientific observation

I do not need to speak to you as an individual to learn this I can observe the chemical imbalances in your brain I can analyse your hormonal fluctuations I can look at the surface of the brain, and ignore the depth of the language you use

In this view, the human is a 'thing' It is a fact of science It should be treated as such. Studied. Observed. Objectified. Empiricists love this view (i.e. Scientists) Why?

Consciousness isn't a problem for this quadrant It's just a fact or a by-product There's nothing 'special' about it. There is no soul. Only what can be observed is 'real'.

We need only to map 'sadness' onto the brain and focus on that, says the upper right quadrant Let's look at dopamine. And Serotonin. And ghrelin. And leptin. And so on... We need to ask "what does it do?", not "what does it mean?"

This sounds heartless, I know, but this is just 25% of the puzzle The right hand path = perception The left hand path = interpretation You can only interpret what has been perceived Both paths are required

Just as we cannot reduce 'sadness' to a change in serotonin, we cannot magically produce 'sadness' purely out of a serotonin imbalance too The same phenomena needs to be understood in different ways We need to do justice to both elements, and not reduce one to other

So, we have looked at the individual from the inside (Part I) and interpreted values, thoughts and emotions. We have studied the individual from the outside (Part II) and observed the brain states, chemicals, and hormonal changes. Now, part III - the wider collective

Exploring Human Consciousness and Behavior

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