X-Message-Number: 11815 Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 17:11:12 -0400 From: Brook Norton <> Subject: time-binding self circuit In response to Ettingers comment: >I postulate (for fairly obvious reasons) that the anatomy/physiology of the "self circuit" that underlies consciousness (feeling, qualia, capacity for subjective experiences) must extend over some non-zero volume of the brain and also encompass some non-zero interval of time.< I used to agree about the necessity to "bind time" because it takes some fraction of a second to assimilate information from the environment into an awareness of the situation. A mind, existing for just an instant, could not be conscious. But then I lost the feeling that this must be correct. I think it is doubtful that our brain, by virtue of its consciousness, has some non-classical effect on the fabric of space-time, or even some classical effect not shared by inanimate matter. It seems that consciousness is a dynamic property, like oscillation for example. It has meaning only in the context of passing time. An oscillating rod "frozen in time" somehow would not oscillate because it would lack motion. And a brain "frozen in time" would likewise not be conscious. But an oscillating rod doesn't "bind time". It just depends on the passage of time to take on meaning. Thats the definition of a dynamic process. So now I simply think of consciousness as an ordinary dynamic process. The quality of "space-binding", or simply taking up finite space is quite a common requirement for most (all?) physical processes and I have no problem with it. I think the only significance of it is to discriminate consciousness from some purely symbolic processes that perhaps do not require physical space to operate. Brook Norton Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11815