Consciousness: a philosophical or scientific problem?
Brian Chau
Despite the rapid progress of science and technology in recent centuries, the solution for the problem
of consciousness is not yet to be found, as we do not know how consciousness functions. The definition
of consciousness is rather vague, depending on whether it is defined objectively or subjectively. This
essay aims to discuss to what extent the investigation of consciousness is scientific or philosophical. To
say that something is scientific, it must involve the investigation of phenomena by scientific methods,
such as experiments, pattern-seeking etc. To say that something is philosophical, it must involve the
understanding of the world or reality.
The functional and objective definition of consciousness is its awareness of its surroundings and itself.
This suggests that a being with consciousness should be able to obtain information from the
environment, process that information and produce corresponding responses. We as humans are able
to process stimuli from our surroundings with complicated logic and reasoning. We also have emotions
based on what situation we are in and make decisions based on them. This is due to our brain with its
sophisticated neural networks. In other words, this definition suggests that our consciousness is from
our brain. In this case, solving the problem of consciousness is scientific, since neural activities in our
brain can be observed and measured and hence experimented on. There are multiple fields of science
investigating our brain and how it gives us awareness in such complexity. In neuroscience, scientists
are able to analyse neural impulses inside the brain and find out the functions of each of its areas. This
has greatly contributed to the medical field because it has led to better understanding of brain disorders
from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to Alzheimer’s disease. Corresponding
treatments can be given to patients to mitigate or cure their conditions. The study of human brains also
contributes to computer science. Computer scientists use artificial neural networks to create artificial
intelligence such as the recent chat GPT. Japanese scientists have created small robots with living
neurons capable of learning to navigate mazes. In this case, investigating the problem of consciousness
is very much scientific and beneficial to society.
Not only is the problem of the objective definition of consciousness scientific, but it is also
philosophical. Studying consciousness involves studying how humans perceive the world, which is an
inseparable part of our understanding of reality, making solving this problem philosophical.
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