Contribution of Consciousness Theorists to Psychonautics and Somanautics - Term Paper Example

Contribution of Consciousness Theorists to Psychonautics and Somanautics Consciousness is the word used to refer to aspects of the “I” or the “Self”.It is the state in which there is a sense of awareness and an acute knowledge of surroundings and existence (Eccles, 1994). Metzinger (2010) argues that the Self is an “emergent phenomenon of our biology” and that it is possible to manipulate it. Blom, (2009) says that consciousness characterizes people’s being and realism, but the mechanism through which the mind creates thoughts and feelings remains unidentified.Any theory that is concerned with consciousness must be able to explain all elements that are traditionally associated with human consciousness. It should also fully explain the phenomena that are related to consciousness elements (Wilber, 2000). Although it is as old as human existence itself, consciousness has been a major unresolved problem in the world of science (Lancaster, 2004). However, there are some researchers who are willing to tackle this mystery. Psychonautics and Somanautics The term psychonautics is derived from two Greek terminologies: psyche (mind, spirit, soul) and nautes (sailor, navigator). It refers to the methodology used in the explanation and description of the subjective effects of consciousness states that have been altered (Surhone, Tipledon and Marseken, 2010). These alterations of the mind can be caused by many things including the use of mind-altering substances and spiritualism. Psychonautics can also be used to refer to a certain research concept whereby an individual explores human existence and experience by immersing himself into a state of altered consciousness (Eccles, 1994). Psychonautics can also be defined as the methodology sued in the study and exploration of consciousness and altered forms of consciousness. This definition rests with the idea that for one to study consciousness, he has to transform it first. Somanautics, a derivation of the Greek words soma (body) and nautes (Salilor, navigator), is a term used to refer to the exploration of the consciousness of the body. Therefore, the field of psychonautics and somanutics deals with the study and exploration of the body, mind and soul. The person who immerses himself into altered states for research purposes is referred to as a psychonaut (Blom, 2009). Surhone, Tipledon and Marseken (2010) add that the term psychonautics can be applied on a diversity of activities including those in which the altered states are “induced and utilized for spiritual purposes or the exploration of the human condition” (3). Some of the examples of altered state practices include: shamanism, Lamas, use of hallucinogenic drugs and sensory deprivation. Apart from the use of hallucinogens and the disruption of physiological and psychological processes other methodologies used in psychonautics include: Meditation Prayer Dreaming – lucid dreaming Rituals Biofeedback – changes the neural activity of the brain using dream machines, mind machines, cranial electrotherapy and binaural beats (Surhone, Tipledon and Marseken, 2010) Perspectives and Theories of Consciousness Consciousness is a field that has attracted a lot of attention from psychology researchers. There are different theories that have been developed by different researchers to aid in the understanding of the concept of consciousness. Below is a detailed discussion of two different theories and perspectives of consciousness. Penrose-Hameroff’s Quantum Theory of Consciousness The quantum approach to consciousness that was developed by researchers Roger Penrose and Sturat Hameroff is referred to as ORCH OR theory (Penrose and Hameroff, 1996). In this theory, Penrose claimed that a human brain could do those things that a computer could not. He believed that there was a certain brain process that could not be explained through mathematical concepts. He said that these processes were somehow related to the physics wave function collapse. Hameroff contribution to this theory was based on the ability of anaesthesia to quell consciousness, but at the same time, its ability to leave a part of the brain unaffected. he noted that there exists a close relationship between effects of various types of anaesthetics on consciousness and the extent to which the anaesthetics can lessen the ability of a special electron in the brain to move from one particular location to another. This argument suggests that there is some sort of close relationship between the structural activities of microtubules and consciousness. The theory is divided into three parts: the Gödel Part, The Gravity Part and the Microtubule Part. The Gödel Part This approach makes use of the Gödel Incompleteness Theorem to demonstrate that humans have a certain level of intellectual power that would not be possible if their functioning was based on the principles of traditional physical theory. This means that a conscious human being is capable of performing tasks that were not possible in the classical consciousness models. the Godel theory-based arguments imply that a mathematician can know those things that classical models could not. The Gravity Part The Gravity part focuses on the question of quantum dynamics, that is, the exact time when the sudden quantum jump is supposed to occur. Penrose attempts to answer the question of when the real quantum jump happens by linking the dilemma to the problem that comes up when the quantum theory is combined with the theory of gravity by Einstein known as the General Relativity perspective. Einstein’s theory is based on the idea that the concept of space-time is a deformable medium and not an inflexible component as it had been previously thought to be. The way space-time is deformed is entirely dependent on how matter is distributed in it. However, serious problems do occur when the quantum quality of matter comes into consideration. According to the quantum theory, a particle, which can be an ion or an electron, does not have a specified location, rather, its location is determined by a probability cloud. in conjecture with the General Relativity theory, if the locations of these particles are not clearly defined, then the particles’ space-time structural form is also not definite. Penrose agrees with this and adds that nature is repulsed this kind of uncertainty in the space-time structure. He says that when this uncertainty is too much, there is likely to be a quantum jump to a far less ambiguous space-time structure. Penrose’s ideas are dependent on the Planck’s energy-time connection theory. When this constant is divided by any energy quantity, the result is a time interval corresponding to the constant . This means that if it is possible to define the energy of a quantum jump, then it is possible to define and specify the time interval related to a potential quantum jump. an empirical support for this idea is provided by linking it to Hameroff’s theory of consciousness which holds that consciousness is closely related with microtubular sub-structure of the neurons. Microtubule Part Researchers of consciousness once thought that neuron interiors were just fluid masses without any structure. However, it was later proved that neurons actually do have an elaborate structure of microtubules (Mcintosh, 2007). Each of these microtubules is a cylinder-shaped structure that measures several millimetres. The surface of these structures is filled with tubuline molecules which have a spiral-chain shape. Each tubulines circuit has thirteen molecules. Each molecule occurs in two different structural forms. Each of the tubulines also contains a special electron that can be located in one or two places. according to the Quantam theory of consciousness, the configurational state in which the molecule will be will depend on which particular location the special electron is at. This part of the quantum theory of consciousness was enhanced by Hameroff’s observation on the effects of anaesthetics on consciousness. It is easy to understand the relationship of anaesthetics on the brain by considering the relationship between the configuration of microtubules and consciousness. Neurofunctional Theory of Consciousness Most literature on consciousness just concentrates on one problem: the hard problem (Mcintosh, 2007). However, more and more researchers are moving towards getting into the details of specific conscious experiences that are related to the neural basis. In many of these experiments, a lot of questions are raised and many of them remain unanswered (Lancaster, 2004). The Neurofuntional Theory of Consciousness bases ideas on the answers to these unanswered consciousness questions (Printz, 2003). These questions or consciousness problems are discussed in depth below. The What Problem According to the Neurofunctional theory, the what problem is concerned with “figuring out what we are conscious of” (Prinz, 2003, 1). One of the questions one must have answers to in this problem is what the contents of a conscious experience are. The Where Problem This is the question that deals with the problem of where in the brain consciousness arises. However, locating the origin of consciousness in itself is not enough, there is need to answer another question. The How problem This is the question that addresses how some states become conscious. This can be explained by asking how some states come to be experienced. The how problem can also include the question: “What are the psychological or neuronal mechanisms or processes that distinguish conscious states from unconscious states,” (Prinz, 2003). The When Problem This problem deals with the question of the conditions under which potentially conscious states actually become conscious. When these questions are all answered, it is easy to answer the remaining ones: thee why and who problems. The why problem asks the question why we have consciousness and the who question deals with who is conscious. Anything and anyone could be conscious: non-humans, animals, human babies, machines and many other entities. When considering what we are conscious of, it is important to consider the hierarchical organization of perceptual systems. Different levels of perception are thought to represent different degrees of abstraction. “There is a movement from very fine-grained local features, with minimal global integration, to very abstract categorical representations that are especially useful for capturing invariance across perceptual vantage points. Between these extremes, the disjointed local and the abstract categorical, there are postulated to be intermediate-level subsystems. These are vantage point specific, rather than invariant, and they also have global organization—the parts are bound together coherently. Perception is still widely believed to be hierarchical. The major difference between the state of play now, and back in 1987 is that we have a much better understanding of the perceptual hierarchies, and that understanding has been fueled by advances in neuroscience1. On the question of how we become conscious, Prinz says that the consciousness does arise in the intermediate perceptual subsystems. But they do not occur all the time, only when there is attention to modulate activities in the systems. With attention, there is conscious perception. Shifts in attention often lead to major changes in consciousness. Prinz says that the allocation of attention does not necessarily require effort; however, he says that selection is very important. This means that when there is no attention, then there is no consciousness. When asking the why question, one must understand what consciousness is for. The why question addresses the issue of “does it do any work for us” (Prinze, 5). He say that “if consciousness is the property of inner representations of a certain sort being made available in a certain way, then the answer depends on what these representations are and what their availability does for us” (p.5). Prinze continues to say that consciousness is important as it serves the role of showcasing information that is viewpoint based into a working memory. he says that representations that are viewpoint specific are crucial in making decisions. On who is conscious, all one has to do is to find out what mechanisms of consciousness are in him and them he can gauge those mechanisms against those exhibited by other creatures. it is possible to find other creatures with a similar mechanism of consciousness as humans, however, many of them are functionally different from humans. Consciousness Theorist’s contribution to Psychonautics and Somanautics The research on consciousness has greatly contributed to the study of psychonautics and somanautics. By understanding the various concepts of consciousness, individuals are able to comprehend how psychonautics and somanautics work (Blom, 2009). In respect to the two theories discussed above, it is clear that consciousness cannot be separated from psychonautics and somanautics. Penrose and Hameroff’s Quontum Theory The Quantum theory invokes the perspective that consciousness, including mental activity, correlates in some way with the material brain’s behaviour. Quantum events do occur in the brain, and this fact can be quite useful in the area of psychonautics and somanautics. Researchers involved in psychonautics and somanautics to explain how and why consciousness exists (Lancaster, 2004). In psychonautics, for one to study consciousness, he has to transform it first (Pashler, 1998). The quantum theory can help psychonautics the tools they need to transform consciousness so that they can achieve the level of consciousness that they want. Neurofunctional Theory of Consciousness The Neurofunctional theory of consciousness can be used by psychonautics to determine the kind of conscious level that is possible to achieve at a certain time in a particular place. since psychonautics and somanautics deals with the alteration of body, mind and soul to achieve a certain type of consciousness, it is important for psychonautics to think about all the aspects of consciousness before they go into any experimentation (Mcintosh, 2007). The psychonautic researcher must answer all the questions pertaining consciousness for him to understand the results of his experiment. He must ask himself the what question. This will enable him to understand where in the brain consciousness arise will arise. Answering the how question will help him understand how some states become conscious (Pashler, 1998). The how solution also will help him distinguish between the conscious and unconscious states. When he answers the when problem a psychonautic researcher will know the conditions under which potentially conscious states are likely to become conscious. The researcher will also need to answer the why question if he wants to know why he has a conscious or for purpose his consciousness exists. Getting to know who has consciousness will give the researcher all he needs to be able to navigate from one conscious state to another (Printz, 2003). Conclusion The concept of consciousness is what characterizes people’s existence and sense of reality. That is to say that your world is real depending on how your conscious is. However, the means by which the mind creates thoughts and feelings has not been very clear. The quantum and neurofunctional theories of consciousness have attempted to explain several elements related to consciousness. Both theories delve deep into the issue of how consciousness can be understood from various points of view. This is very important for researchers in involved in psychonautics and somanautics. To understand how to alter consciousness from its current form, one has to understand how best to go about the whole process. The quantum theory emphasizes the fact that the human brain can do things that may seem not normal. The theory goes on ahead to identify ways though which this is possible. The neurofunctional theory of consciousness goes deep into the issue of answering pertinent questions that arise when one tries to understand consciousness. These questions need to be answered fully in order to find satisfactory results when dealing with consciousness research. References Blom, J.D. 2009. A Dictionary of Hallucinations. New York: Springer Eccles, J.C. 1994. How the Self Controls its Brain. New York: Springer Lancaster, B. 2004. Approaches to Consciousness: The Marriage of Science and Mysticm. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan Mcintosh, S. 2007. Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution: How the Integral Worldview is Transforming Politics, Culture and Spirituality. London: Paragon House Metzinger, T. 2010. The Ego Tunnel: The science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self. New York: Basic Books. Pashler, H. 1998. The Psychology of Attention. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press Penrose, R. and Hameroff, S. 1996. Orchestrated Reduction of Quantum Coherence in Brain Microtubules: A model for consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 3(1) 36-53 Printz, J.J. 2003. A Neurofunctional Theory of Consciousness. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Surhone, L.M., Tipledon, M.T. and Marseken, S.F. 2010. Psychonautics. Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller AG & Co. Kg. Wilber, K. 2000. Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy. Boston, Mass: Shambhala. Read More