Bevidsthed/Consciousness

Hjernens baggrundsstøj

I den studiegruppe om bevidsthed, jeg deltager i, har vi aftalt at høre et podcast om forskel på mænds og kvinders hjerner: her på Brainstorm.

Podcastet refererer til en ny artikel: Deep learning models reveal replicable, generalizable, and behaviorally relevant sex differences in human functional brain organization.
Forskerne analyserer mønstre i hjernescanninger ved hjælp af kunstig intelligens, og her finder de den tydeligste kønsbestemte forskel i det, de kalder "default network mode".
Den statistiske analyse i denne artikel er ret kompliceret og ikke umiddelbar gennemskuelig for mig. Men der konkluderes at AI kan lære at kende forskel på mønstre i data fra mænds og kvinders hjernescanninger under forhold med stimuli i form af de opgaver, forsøgsprersonerne skal løse. Imidlertid står det ret uklart, hvori disse forskelle består, og hvorledes de forholder sig til de kendte kønsforskelle i adfærd iøvrigt. Kvinders opgaveløsning viser større sammenhæng med "default mode" aktivitet, specielt frontalt i hjernen. Og forfatterne finder dette i god overensstemmelse med kliniske fund i andre undersøgelser, der påpeger tendens hos mænd til "eksternalisering" af problemløsning, hvor kvinder i højere grad "internaliserer".

Tidligere i studiegruppen havde vi læst en anden artikel: The transition from biology to phenomenology (Erling Mellerup, 2025)
Her peges der på "spontan" nerveaktivitet, som foregår konstant og kræver energi uden at være en del af "integreret" aktivitet knyttet til sensoriske input eller output til muskler mm. Der præsenteres her den hypotese, at bevidsthed opstår i samspillet mellem den spontane og den integrerede hjerneaktivitet. Den spontane aktivitet er således ikke en overflødig funktion, men giver nye muligheder for overlevelse og udvikling for den menneskelige art.

En net søgning på "default mode" eller "spontaneous brain activity" viser, at der er megen ny forskning i emnet. Oprindeligt synes fænomenet blot at have været betragtet som den baseline eller hviletilstand, hvorfra man kunne måle reaktioner på stimuli. Men flere undersøgelser tyder på, at denne baggrundsaktivitet har indflydelse på og præger den efterfølgende reaktion og adfærd:
"Brain mechanisms of mental processing: from evoked and spontaneous brain activities to enactive brain activity." Chi Zhang et.al. (2023)
og
"Network mechanisms of ongoing brain activity’s influence on conscious visual perception" Yuan-hao Wu et.al. (2024)"
Det er nærliggende at spekulere på, om denne tilsyneladende tilfældige baggrunds-"støj" rummer bevidsthedens skiftende informationsindhold i en inkodet form, som vi ikke har nøglen til. Det kan svare til den måde et holografi findes på en flad fotografisk plade i form af mange tilsyneladende tilfældige prikker, der først bliver til et 3D-billede, når det belyses med laserlys af en bestemt bølgelængde, som interfererer med møstret i prikkerne. Men der behøver ikke være tale om den samme mekanisme i hjernen, men blot det, at information kan opbevares på mange forskellige måder, der kræver en afkodning for at blive forståelige.

Foredrag af Julian Jaynes, oversat

Jeg deltager i en studiegruppe om bevidsthed. Som et indlæg i denne ville jeg gerne skrive en introduktion med referat af Julian Jaynes bog fra 1976: The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.
Det viste sig, at forfatteren selv havde holdt en foredragsrække, hvor han giver et resume af bogens indhold, og foredraget kan findes online: her
Jeg har også lavet en dansk oversættelse af foredraget: Bevidsthed og sindets stemmer.

Ramblings on time, consciousness and quantum physics

Universe
In an expanded model of the universe the parameters could be: time, space, matter/energy and consciousness. According to modern physics matter and energy can be seen as different aspects of the same. Mass/energy is connected with time and spacial dimensions according to both newthonian and einsteinian equations:
energy (of movement)=mass*speed^2 and E (absolute)=m*C^2.
Including consciousness in a model of the universe can be necessary to solve the "hard" problem", resulting in the idea of panpsychism. Believing in this model you can still call yourself an atheist, as long as you don't see a universal consciousness as a personalized god.

Time and consciousness
A one-cell microorganism moving through a solution can move towards a higher concentration of nutrients. It has sensors for nutrients but these are not sensitive enough to sense a slightly higher concentration at one end of the cell compared to the other end. However, it can move (seemingly purposely) by first making random flagellations of it's arms and then repeating the same pattern, if the concentration of nutrients has risen. If the concentration remains the same or has fallen, a random pattern of movement is resumed. In other words this microscopic organism has some mechanism emulating memory.

The human brain (and animal brains) constructs a model of it's environment based on sensual data. Raw visual data is a lot less detailed, than the resulting model-image that more resembles a photo or a movie. Data for one eye is roughly equivalent with that from a 2 Megapixel camera with sharp focus only in a small central area that lacks color, while the surrounding area has composite color but a much lower resolution. On top of that there is an area to one side lacking input (the "blind spot"). Color by the way, is created in the brain. Physically there are only different wavelengths of light (or mixes of wavelengths) from a continuous spectrum, and no borders between what is yellow or green.
When the visual field is experienced more like a photo, it can partly be explained by the fact that there are two eyes and that the eyes are moved around, filling in details and color, where needed. This also implies a chronological summation of sensory data, both short term-on location and long-term based on previous experience and life history.
This example illustrates that consciousness must have a certain span in time, at least including the immediate past. Many other examples can support this view. It would be impossible to understand spoken language, if only one element of sound was present at any one instance. Music would appear completely meaningless without experiencing some gestalt (melody) based on a series of tones.
The model of the present reality created in consciousness spans a greater portion of time than just the instant. Besides the impression of recent past, it also contains estimates of events in the immediate future. If an object is moving towards you, your consciousness immediately constructs an estimated trajectory based on present and past sensory data, and this gives you awareness of where the object is likely to be situated in the next moment. A certain dimension of time spanning past, present and future is inherent in conscious experience.

Quantum mechanics
Could someone please come up with a model relating time in consciousness as well as in equations with quantum physics, whereby measurement (or consciousness) not only causes "collapse of the wave function" removing statistical uncertainty, but also advances time to the next step.

Oplevelser af forskellig type:

Oplevelser kan forstås som ethvert emne, der optræder i bevidstheden.
For bevare en realistisk model af den omgivende verden i bevidstheden er det nødvendigt at kunne skelne mellem forskellige typer af oplevelser.
Voksne mennesker med intakt realitetstestning (vågne og ikke psykotiske) vil normalt uden besvær kunne identificerede de enkelte oplevelsetyper.

Sansning omfatter perception af den ydre verden, omgivelserne, men også af kroppen og dens tilstand. Emnerne fremtræder med præg af realisme. Man tvivler ikke på at noget påvirker sanseorganerne. I nogen tilfælde kan der være tale om artifakter fra sanseapparatet: "fluer" i synsfeltet, der stammer fra øjets glaslegeme, tinnitus, eller "aura"-fænomener ved migræne. Føleforstyrrelser som snurren i fingerspidserne eller en fantomsmerte hører også til denne kategori, der som regel uden videre opfattes som stammende fra kroppen selv og ikke fra en påvirkning fra omgivelserne.
Perception giver oplevelser, der fremtræder som forekommende her og nu, og skaber en indre model af omgivelserne med dens dynamik og muligheder.
Sansningen kan være intendereret, når man kan rette opmærksomheden (og f.eks. blikket) forskellige steder hen, men den kan også være påtrængende, som noget der ikke nemt kan lukkes ude.

Erindring er forestillinger i billeder, ord eller begreber, der repræsenterer tidligere situationer i livet. De referer til datiden og evt. til et andet sted end det aktuelle. Men de fremtræder med præg af realisme, man tror på, at de har fundet sted i virkeligheden. De kan fremkaldes med vilje, eller de kan dukke op spontant eller som association til noget nuværende.

Frie forestillinger eller fantasi, derimod behøver ikke at være realistisk eller knyttet til bestemte tidligere begivenheder.
De kan med hensyn til indhold placeres frit i sted og tid, fortid eller fremtid.
Forestillinger kan skabes med vilje eller de kan dukke op af sig selv, og er i disse tilfælde beslægtet med tvangstanker.

Drømme er fobundet med søvn eller en anden form for ændret bevidsthedstilstand. De kan forekommer realistiske mens de pågår, men opfattes som regel bagefter som noget uvirkeligt.
Indholdsmæssigt kan drømme foregår på alle steder og til alle tider, evt. endda flere samtidigt.
Almindeligvis kan drømme ikke styres volontært. En undtagelse er dog nogle "lucide" drømme, hvor drømmeren er bevidst om at befinde sig i en drømme og måske til en vis grad kan forme indholdet.

Hallucinationer ligner sanseperception med "her og nu"-præg. Men er uvirkelige for andre iagtagere, og tolkes også i nogle tilfælde som uvirkelige for den perciperende selv.

Tvangstanker er ufrivillige emner i ord eller billeder, der dukker op her og nu, men godt i indhold kan handle om fortid eller fremtid et andet sted.

Nogle andre typer oplevelser, der ikke så let lader sig indplacere i tabellen, har at gøre med selv-bevidstheden. Det gælder oplevelse af egne følelser, humør og øjeblikkelige behov. Men er også hos de fleste et fortløbende billede af, hvordan man opfattes af andre.

Fælles for alle oplevelser er, at de ikke direkte kan måles eller deles med andre. De kan beskrives med ord og fagter, eller udtrykkes gennem kunst, men her er tale om fortolkning eller efterligning og ikke en videregivelse af selve oplevelsen.

Foreløbig litteraturliste

Jeg har kun læst dele af dette, men ved hvor resten kan findes.
Se liste

Dette er en bog, jeg ville ønske jeg selv kunne have skrevet.
Den kommer i klart sprog omkring alle de vigtigste tilgange til spørgsmålet:
Overgaard, Søren: En verden af indtryk. Om blæksprutter, basilikum og bevidsthedens gåde. Gads Forlag 2023

Suggested litterature for discussion

Until now , I have read only parts of these, but know where to find most.
See list

AI answers questions about consciousness (2/2023)

The last week has seen many of mentions of ChatGPT and OpenAI. I couldn't resist logging on and posing a few questions about consciousness.

The first question, which I didn't save was whether consciousness was as real as matter. OpenAI simply answered "Yes".
The next questions were more specific:

Me:
Is consciousness as real as physical matter?

OpenAI:

Consciousness is a complex and multifaceted concept that
 is not fully understood, but many experts believe that it is
 a real phenomenon that arises from the functioning of the 
 brain. While consciousness is not a form of physical matter, 
 it is thought to be closely tied to the physical activity of 
 the brain and to arise from the interactions of neurons and 
 other cells in the nervous system. Some theories of 
 consciousness propose that it is a fundamental aspect of the 
 universe, in the same way that space, time, and matter are 
 considered to be fundamental aspects of reality. Others 
 suggest that consciousness emerges from the complexity of 
 the  brain and its ability to process information and generate 
 subjective experiences. Ultimately, the nature of consciousness 
 and its relationship to the physical world are still topics of 
 active research and debate in the fields of neuroscience, 
 psychology, and philosophy.

Me:
Are you conscious?

I am a machine learning model trained to assist with
 a variety of tasks, such as answering questions and providing
 information on a wide range of topics. I do not have 
 consciousness or the ability to experience thoughts or 
 feelings like a human being. My responses are based on 
 the information and input I have been trained on, and I do not 
 have the ability to access new information or learn like a 
 human.

At a later date I presented OpenAI with a real challenge to it's creativity:

Me:
Can you write a symbolist poem about a drunken boat?

Sure, here is a symbolist poem about a drunken boat:


In a state of inebriation,
The boat set sail on the ocean
Drifting aimlessly, lost and alone
Battling the waves, but never atone


The winds of change, they did blow
Pushing and pulling, to and fro
The boat, it swayed and it rocked
Drunk on the motion, till it was knocked


To the depths it did descend
Into the dark and cold watery end
A symbol of excess and debauchery
A cautionary tale, of what not to be


But even in death, the boat did find
A sense of peace, a calm of mind
Drifting forever, in the endless sea
A drunken boat, finally free.

I was thinking of the famous, symbolist poem by Arthur Rimbaud, here in several translations from french. Compaired to the original OpenAI's version is much less fabulating or colorful. Whereas OpenAI's version focuses on factual happenings and has a moralistic tone, Rimbauds poem expresses phenomenological experience and can be seen as a total rebellion against societal control and even logic (the crew has been slaughtered and left behind and the boat is guided by random, chaotic forces).
This difference is not surprising, since the present examples of "AI" are "large language models" using big-data statistics to find the most common expressions following in the sequence they are constructing. This tends to make them midways-seeking, finding an average of the variety of texts, they have been trained with.
Kind of like finding news by only reading "trending" or "what others are viewing" on webpages.

Wilson and Sheldrake (11/2022)

Been reading ”The misfits – A study of Sexual Outsiders” (1988).
Colin Wilson is a very versatile writer, author of crime novels, sci-fi, biographies and essays.
The book is about sexual minorities, but turns out to be just as much a history of literature, especially of the novel.
As the word says, the novel represents a new development in literature starting around 1740 (the year of Richardson's ”Pamela”). Whereas earlier epic writing almost exclusively was concerned with actions, the overt behavior of people, and seldom if at all addressed their inner thoughts, feelings and aspirations. In other words no depiction of subject's consciousness or imagination was included. The appearance of the novel and the romantic movement as such changed the course of literature and general perceptions permanently.
Wilson postulates that sexual perversions were rare, or at least not perceived in the public mind, before this time because imagination was not applied for sexual satisfaction. Somehow collective consciousness was changed, and various paradigms for such a change are discussed. Surprisingly Wilson refers to Rupert Sheldrake (”A New Science of Life”, 1981) and his concept of cognitive resonance.
This corresponds with a recurring theme in Wilson's authorship, the thought that the human mind has a huge, undiscovered potential, capable of opening up new realms of consciousness and even influencing the material world.

The fragile experience of reality (1/2022)

At times when I have been ill or extremely tired, I have discovered, I have discovered mistaken perceptions of my surroundings.
These episodes don't just occur in periods of weakened consciousness, but also in milder form at times with full awareness.
Some of my faculties seem generally weakened with age. Mis-hearings of words occur often, and are corrected by my wife. My earlier very precise sense of direction can fail at times, when the inner compass suddenly seems to be inverted with east pointing to west and vice versa. Likely more or less normal failings of age.

A few times an alternative interpretation of reality can result in an almost mystical experience.
I remember once on Mallorca when I in the almost darkness of twilight looked out from a second floor corridor in our hotel and saw what I thought was an abandoned garden of an old villa, now gone. Beauty in decay, nicely planted vegetation, an old gate adjourned by statues.
I pointed it out to my wife who at once saw a mini-golf course under repair or being rebuilt.
The next morning I could see it for myself. The lanes were placed in between trees and bushes and scattered building materials. The statues were cheap garden variety adornments and the whole area was connected with the Turkish grill in front.
However, somehow there was still a feeling of past splendor about the place. The trees were actually old and the gate had become enveloped inside a growing hedge. Maybe my original impression was some kind of vision of something behind the present and conventional reality? Maybe I saw the garden as it was at an earlier period in time or as it was destined to become later.
Maybe this is what visionary people experience more often?

Animisme mm.

Inspireret af: Colin Wilson, fænomenologi, bevidsthedsteorier, traditioner på Bali, hinduisme.

På Bali har vi hørt om ånder allevegne, om grumme jordånder efter afdøde, der ikke i tide er blevet ligbrændt, men også om mange andre, gode og onde. Man ofrer både til de gode og de onde ånder, da begge dele nok ses som del af naturens orden. Det bliver taget som en selvfølgelighed, ikke som en religion, der missioneres for. Bekendelse, skyld og samvittighed spiller måske ikke samme rolle som i europæisk kultur.

Ud fra et vestligt og naturvidenskabeligt syn virker dette som naiv overtro, vildledende og med unødvendig brug af ressourcer.

Ser man imidlertid fænomenologisk på det - med oplevelsen som den primære virkelighed og det fysiske univers som en afledt model - er besjæling af omgivelserne mere en selvfølgelig ting.

Vi oplever synsindtryk i farver, uden at farver som sådan findes i den fysiske model, hvor der kun er et kontinuum af forskellige bølgelængder lys i de synlige spektrum. På tilsvarende vis bliver andre stimuli forarbejdet på en for det enkelte individ karakteristisk måde, der kategoriserer, og integrerer et udvalg af de mange påvirkninger, så de bliver en del af det indre, kognitive kort eller model af omgivelserne. Modellen rummer meget mere, end hvad der kan fremgå af den umiddelbare samling af stimuli. Den rummer en tidsdimension med tilnærmelse af hvad, der gået forud samt hvad der vil komme efter øjeblikket. Hvis omgivelserne har andre mennesker eller dyr, vil modellen også rumme hensigter og følelsesudtryk, knyttet til disse. Den funktion kalder vi i dag mentalisering. I en mere materialistisk, naiv popularisering af forholdet tales der om spejl-neuroner.

Selv ikke-levende emner i omverden kan opleves med hensigt eller andre psykiske egenskaber (en truende regnsky, en stædig trærod).

Det er også forståeligt at tale om dæmoner i betydningen autonome hensigtsbærende mekanismer i bevidstheden. De kan opleves som ego-fremmede og i modstrid med den bevidste vilje eller hensigt. På samme kan der forekomme en slags engle eller gode, vejledende bevidsthedsdannelser, der kan være udtryk for internaliserede regler eller egen etik og målsætning. Dette er ikke det samme, som id-ego-superego opdelingen, da det handler om bevidste elementer.

Forholdet kan antage en slags eksternalisering af bevidtshedsfænomener, der ikke umiddelbart fremgår af aktuelle stimuli. Perception må ses som en proces, der går i begge retninger.

Common sense og videnskab

Common sense and science

The other day I was speaking with a new acquaintance, who upon learning that I was a psychologist, asked me some of the usual questions.
"Do you as a psychologist usually diagnose everyone you meet?"
"Don't psychologists just deal with matters that we all already know about perfectly well?"

I could quickly answer no to the first question. I am not at work in my free time.

The second question I had to answer with a "Yes, but..".
It's true we all use a knowledge of people's experience and behavior most of the time in our daily lives. This applies both to our experience-based knowledge of ourselves and to knowledge of other people's reactions. But psychology as a science is something different and more than everyday human knowledge. It's an attempt to prove the scientific laws of experience and behavior.
Some sciences, for example Assyriology, deal with knowledge that is not commonly known. But other sciences, such as physics, study relationships that everyone constantly uses in their daily lives, just like psychology does. Take the "law of gravity": everyone expects an apple you drop or that breaks off a tree to fall to the ground.
That's not what Newton discovered when, according to the anecdote, he was hit on his head by a falling apple. On the other hand, it was the insight that there was a general law of movement that could perhaps be described mathematically. It's not entirely true that things are falling down. On the other side of the world, they fall upwards - from our point of view. And the apple doesn't just fall at a certain constant rate. If you measure it, it turns out that it accelerates with a certain constant acceleration. Objects are attracted to the earth by a force proportional to their weight, or more correctly their mass, which, according to Newton's insight, is no longer the same as weight. And his solution was radical: a law of general attraction between all masses, proportional to each of the masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Then you could mathematically calculate for the orbits of the planets.

Psychology also tries to find empirically confirmed laws, but they can rarely be formulated as accurately as in the case of Newtonian mechanics.