I am utterly fascinated by the human brain and if I was not itching to be done with schooling I would become a neurologist. Every aspect of the human brain intrigues me and the same goes for today's topic of consciousness as a scientific study. The readings ask, is the study of consciousness scientific? Personally, I believe that consciousness is not scientific but I can see why there is such a debate over this innate human quality. I do believe that some parts of consciousness can be scientific; the specific ganglion, the amount of synapses, firing rate, and response times can all be measured and analyzed in to specific data about the brain and it's function. But the concept of consciousness stretches far beyond any statistical data we can collect.
It is amazing to me that with the ever-growing population of scientists and researchers, many of them still cannot decide on a single, true definition of consciousness - I believe this is where the debate begins and thrives. What is consciousness? Is it cognitive alertness? Is it the ability to formulate thoughts and opinions? And does that include being able to express and communicate those thoughts and opinions? My definition of consciousness is a state of cognitive functioning that allows the physical brain to identify "self-awareness, emotion, perception, and reasoning" (Hazen 95). Based on this definition, consciousness is much more than the physical neurological data that we can analyze - which is why I choose to believe that the study of consciousness is not scientific. At least, not yet.
One day I hope that consciousness can be identified as any other neurological function, but right now there is not enough scientific data about human consciousness to be able to group it with other biological qualities. There is still so much about the human body that we do not understand and I am excited to be part of a field that continues to search for answers.
It is amazing to me that with the ever-growing population of scientists and researchers, many of them still cannot decide on a single, true definition of consciousness - I believe this is where the debate begins and thrives. What is consciousness? Is it cognitive alertness? Is it the ability to formulate thoughts and opinions? And does that include being able to express and communicate those thoughts and opinions? My definition of consciousness is a state of cognitive functioning that allows the physical brain to identify "self-awareness, emotion, perception, and reasoning" (Hazen 95). Based on this definition, consciousness is much more than the physical neurological data that we can analyze - which is why I choose to believe that the study of consciousness is not scientific. At least, not yet.
One day I hope that consciousness can be identified as any other neurological function, but right now there is not enough scientific data about human consciousness to be able to group it with other biological qualities. There is still so much about the human body that we do not understand and I am excited to be part of a field that continues to search for answers.
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