The Downward Causality and the Hard Problem of Consciousness or Why Computer Programs Do not Work in the Dark

• Authors: Alexander Boldachev
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Any low-level processes, the sequence of chemical interactions in a living cell, muscle cellular activity, processor commands or neuron interaction, is possible only if there is a downward causality, only due to uniting and controlling power of the highest level. Therefore, there is no special “hard problem of consciousness”, i.e. the problem of relation of ostensibly purely biological materiality and non-causal mentality - we have only the single philosophical problem of relation between the upward and downward causalities, the problem of interrelation between hierarchic levels of existence. It is necessary to conclude that the problem of determinacy of chemical processes by the biological ones and the problem of neuron interactions caused by consciousness are of one nature and must have one solution.

Keywords

EN

consciousness; hard problem; downward causality

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Studia Humana
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 7-10

Dates

online

2015-01-31

Contributors

author

Alexander Boldachev

• St. Petersburg, Russia

References

• 1. Chalmers, D.J. Facing up to the problem of consciousness, Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2 (3), 1995, pp. 200-219.
• 2. Chalmers D.J. The Conscious Mind. In Search of a Fundamental Theory. N. Y.: Oxford, 1996.
• 3. Boldachev, A.V. Temporality and the philosophy of absolute relativism, Moscow: Lenand, 2011 (in Russian).

Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/sh-2015-0002