The Unsolvable Mystery of the Mind
Consciousness has always been and continues to be one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. The state of being conscious refers to how our physical and psychological experiences contribute to our perception of existence, which prompts the awareness of the self. The awareness of the self is what allows us to experience consciousness through a subjective lens, and this experience is something that has puzzled scientists and philosophers for centuries. How does the pink-greyish lump of tissue that we carry inside our skulls give rise to the complex state of consciousness? Furthermore, how does consciousness contribute to the mental construction of the self?
To enhance our understanding of the human psyche, we must start from the top; by expanding our knowledge of the brain. However, even after having understood the fundamental functioning of the brain, many questions are bound to remain unanswered, as science will only get us so far. Anatomists have outlined much of the physical buildup of the nervous system, with its many billion neurons and nerves, much like astronomers have mapped the many billion stars that have been spotted in our solar system. Despite cartographic representation, our knowledge about the universe remains very vague. Likewise, our knowledge of the anatomy and function of the nervous system leaves our understanding of consciousness and the self incomplete. The self is, in a way, independent from the physical body and mind, hence understanding the mind will not answer the age-old question of awareness and self-perception. It should however teach us to appreciate our consciousness as the essence of human life.
Introducing The Brain
Basic understanding of the brain and the nervous system
The brain could be described as the headquarters of the most critical organ system in the human body. In terms of matter, the brain is composed of approximately 60% fat. The remaining 40% is a combination of water, proteins, carbohydrates, and salt. The brain tissue is highly complex, involving neuronal, glial, and endothelial cells. It is a remarkably soft organ, conveniently protected by the skull. The brain can be divided into various structures, all responsible for a wide range of different functions. The simplest way of organizing the brain is to divide it into three basic units; the cerebrum, the brainstem, and the cerebellum.
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain, consisting of two hemispheres known as the left and right hemispheres, respectively. The cerebral hemispheres have distinguishable fissures which further divide the brain into different lobes. Most brain functions rely on the collaboration of multiple different regions across the entire brain, however, it is still true that each lobe carries out a specific function.
The brainstem, located in the middle of the brain, connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord. This structure is responsible for various vital functions, such as breathing, consciousness, heart rate, and sleep. If the brainstem gets damaged, the brain cannot communicate with the body to control our unconscious functions, and equally cannot receive messages from any other part of the body.
The cerebellum, located above the brainstem in the back of the brain, has two hemispheres just like the cerebrum. The external area contains neurons, and the internet communicates with the cerebral cortex. The cerebellum is responsible for coordinating voluntary muscle movements and maintaining posture and balance. Recent studies are also exploring the cerebellum’s roles when it comes to thought, emotions, and social behaviour, as well as its potential involvement in addiction, autism, and schizophrenia.
To interpret the world, the body needs to gather information about its surroundings using the senses, translate these inputs into electrical signaling, and then send the signals to the brain where they can be decoded. This transport happens through the nervous system which consists of two main parts; the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. An example would be when we experience a bright light. The light-detecting neurons called photoreceptors will capture the input and turn it into an electrical signal that is then, through neurons that make up the peripheral nervous system, transported to the central nervous system -the brain and spinal cord- where it is decoded and can be reacted to. The same but slightly differing process is true for our other senses as well; our ears have hair cells that capture the vibrations of sound, our mouth has taste buds that interpret the properties of food, our skin has touch receptors that respond to touch, and olfactory sensory neurons in our nose react to smell. These signals are then transported by neurons which link together like a large webb, spanning the entire body. Neurons connect through synapses, where the electrical signal is momentarily turned into a chemical one before it is once again turned back into an electrical signal after reaching the next neuron. In this way, a large chain of neurons can, like a row of dominoes, quickly and effectively lead the signal containing the information to the brain.
The Revolutionary Neuroscience
How our understanding of the brain has progressed over time
Neuroscience, the study of the brain and the nervous system, has a lengthy and complicated history, with a long list of highly significant milestones. Our understanding of the brain and its significance has progressed gradually over time. The earliest reference to the brain can be traced back to Edwin Smith's Surgical Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian surgical text written in the 17th century BC. The early civilizations lacked the tools necessary for obtaining accurate knowledge about the brain, and their assumptions were therefore inaccurate most of the time. Looking back at Ancient Greece, the medical practitioners of the time had rather contradicting views regarding the significance of the brain. Aristotle, for one, proposed that the brain was but a secondary organ, serving as a cooling agent for the heart. He believed the brain was like a ventilator to rid the body of excess heat. Consciousness, according to Aristotle, was something that arose from the heart. His hypothesis, known as cardiocentrism, suggested that the heart was the seat of emotions, cognition, and awareness. The opposing theory, which has today been confirmed to be true, suggests that it wasn’t from the heart, but rather from the brain that pleasures, joys, laughter, and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs, and tears, arose.
Whether it was Hippocrates or Pythagoras who founded this idea isn’t agreed upon, but the fact that the brain has been a topic of discussion since ancient times proves that humans have always wondered about the great mystery of the human mind. Despite humans having studied the brain, nervous system, and consciousness for thousands of centuries, the actual term “neuroscience” came about first in the 1960s. Many discoveries have since then been made, and our understanding of the human brain has evolved immensely. The advances made in the field of neuroscience have arguably been some of the most significant discoveries contributing not only to our knowledge of the body and its intricate biological functions but also to our understanding of the complex human psyche.
The Fundamental Perception Of Individuality
The significance of consciousness in our understanding of the ‘self’
Despite the significant advances that have been made within the field of neuroscience, the mystery of human consciousness remains partially unrevealed. The question of what consciousness is and where it stems from has caused many controversies among those invested in the field. Some have gone as far as to argue that consciousness is not to be investigated. To believe that consciousness shouldn’t be investigated is foolish, to say the least. How should we progress as humans if we refuse to recognize the very core of what defines humanity? Because consciousness is not only what allows us to experience ourselves in the context of the physical world, but also the foundation of what we call the self.
The terms self-awareness and consciousness are easily confused, however, it is of high importance that we distinguish between them, as they are not interchangeable. To be conscious is to be aware of one's body and its surroundings. To be self-aware is the ability to also recognize one’s consciousness, thereby making self-awareness the basis of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness, in turn, is arguably the very quality that sets us apart from, say, robots and most animals.
The human brain is remarkable in the sense that it allows us to experience the highest level of subjective perception, which is the self. The self is the distinction we make between the mind and brain. The significant difference between them is that we know for certain where the brain is, but the mind is rather difficult to locate. You can point at your head, but you cannot point at your mind, sometimes referred to as the soul. Dualists suggest the mind and brain are separate, while materialists argue that the mind is the brain and that man has no immaterial part. Although science has proven that the anterior precuneus (aPCu), a minor brain structure, plays a critical role in forming our physical sense of self, the question of the mind and its significance can still be argued. The scientific definition of the self tells us that it, the self, is a natural system that acts toward auto-preservation and auto-perpetuation. It is the underlying principle of life, the driving force of evolution. A philosophical definition, on the other hand, would tell us that the self is the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being, that which grants us our individuality.
It is hard to imagine this debate coming to an end, and we ask then, what is the significance of the self? The self, the mind, the “thing” you refer to every time you reference yourself, that is humanity, and by recognizing the self, we are also recognizing our existence. We shouldn’t view the self as a mystery or a problem that needs to be solved. Understanding the self, on an individual level, should rather be a matter of coming to terms with existence, and learning to see the beauty of human life. F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote “His was a great sin, who first invented consciousness,” and it takes a liar to full-heartedly disagree.
Consciousness is, after all, the source of all human suffering. If we weren’t conscious we would have no perception of all that is a burden to us, and it is therefore our greatest torment. But while Fitzgerald's message speaks to our suffering, we mustn’t forget that consciousness is also the core of what makes life worth living. Our self-awareness, dependent on our consciousness, is what allows us to experience value in our existence, and that is, in turn, the value of consciousness; the significance of the self.
