[MD] [Bulk] Re: [Bulk] Re: Is this the inadequacy of, , the, MOQ?

[118]

Hi John,
More below.

On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 1:13 PM, John Carl <ridgecoyote at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> [John]
> Before the action was the conceptualization of the action.  Before there is
> any action, there is an understanding of the context of the action, a
> desire
> for results from an action, a history which confines all action to known
> and
> imagined possibilities.
>
>
> [Mark]
I'm not sure if you are familiar with the work of Benjamin Libet in the
'70's.  Libet was a physiologist who studied consciousness.  He determined
through experimentation on humans, that prior to a volitional action, there
was unconscious nerve activity in the brain that indicated that volitional
activity was going to take place.  This nerve activity (could be termed a
readiness potential) preceded the volitional intention by about half a
second.  This became a big topic of debate among psychologists and
philosophers in terms of free will and such, at that time.  The implications
were that making a decision was entirely subconscious and we became aware of
the decision after it had been made.  This also has implications in what you
are talking about in the paragraph above, and may fit into what some
describe as dynamic quality.

The question would be whether consciousness, as we understand it with common
sense, actually happens after we have already formulated an action or
decision.  This would make our consciousness more of a tape recorder than
one of action and put it secondary to experience.  Such a notion fits with
my interpretation of witnessing things consciously as an observer.  Of
course these studies are difficult to do, and really do not impart much more
to a metaphysical suggestion of reality already in place.  But they are
interesting as topics of conversation, since many seem to like science in
this forum.  It also brings the discussion in from something more recent
than James, who was only at the beginning of modern psychology, and unaware
of many of the things that have been proposed since.  As such, his ideas may
be somewhat dated in this area, and would perhaps be different if formulated
now.

Cheers,
Mark

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