Have we figured out where consciousness exists yet? Is there an answer to the mind-body equation? Is it possible that our stalwart philosopher’s may have put Descartres before the horse?

It’s an age-old argument with no clear answer. But in this day-and-age when some folks are sure that one day machines will have consciousness, it’s worth looking at.

Descartes and his camp claimed that your mind lives inside your brain and it tells your body what to do. A more recent contingent says that no, no, your “mind” is everywhere inside your body, and that the gray matter between your ears is more of a switchboard.

If your body is where your mind lives, then your consciousness is emerging from a living human stew of muscles and tissues and cells and enzymes and bacteria and facia and skin and bones and all the rest. A unique system of senses and feeling floating in an electromagnetic bubble.

If, and this is a big if, they ever put together a machine so complex that it has a ‘mind’ of its own, then that consciousness would emerge from metal and plastic and silicon and circuitry and wires and electricity and transistors and switches and diodes, whew! A complicated gadget to end all gadgets.

Of course, there’s a third possibility. Perhaps consciousness is an emergent property of the universe itself that only happens when a rare combination of organic material is animated with the spark of life.

So, could it ever be possible for something that’s static and incapable of motion to have a form of consciousness that’s remotely similar to ours?

These are all open questions, unfolding before us day by day. With more and more folks turning to AI for not just (hopefully) correct answers, but for therapy and even relationships, it’s worth thinking about what consciousness is and what it means for one individual consciousness to connect with another.

Dancers and artists inhabit a reality of intuition, creativity, and embodiment. The ability to think, feel, and create on your feet can’t help but inform your consciousness with a level of embodiment that a mass of metal and wires can never access.

Odd it may seem, this evolution in technology may represent an opportunity for reality-based people like dancers and artisans. Folks who work face-to-face or body-to-body with other people provide an authentic and unmediated experience. Folks who work with their hands and physical tools to create art, objects, or artifacts are working in a realm of authenticity that cannot be questioned.

Our ability to adapt has always been the key to our evolution. So what’s the best way to approach our current moment? I suggest keeping your chin up and your feet firmly planted on the ground.

Here’s to cultivating consciousness with you till next week!

Merci et à bientôt!

M+

ML #643

Mark Metz
Monday Love Movement Calendar