Keith Ward - Why is Consciousness so Mysterious?

How can the mindless microscopic particles that compose our brains ‘experience’ the setting sun, the Mozart Requiem, and romantic love? How can sparks of brain electricity and flows of brain chemicals literally be these felt experiences or be ‘about’ things that have external meaning? How can consciousness be explained?

Keith Ward is a British philosopher, theologian, pastor and scholar. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and (since 1972) an ordained priest of the Church of England. He was a canon of Christ Church, Oxford until 2003. Comparative theology and the relationship between science and religion are two of his main topics of interest.

Closer to Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[Ranca]

This channel is a DELIGHTFUL constant source of mindfucks, and i am all for it.

[tookie]

Western thought has a problem bc “introspection” for westerners is extremely shallow.

[shinymike]

and yet we must ponder Conciousness with the very Conciousness we are pondering. Lots of Fun 👍

[daybertimagni]

Very true. Consciousness is more real than the physical as the physical is perceived through the filter of our consciousness. This is not an idea or theory, it is a fact. And, true for everyone.

[mrnessss]

Finally, an idealist perspective! I love you Robert but you’re barking up the wrong tree with materialism. That’s why you never seem to get any “closer to truth”.

[ReynaSingh]

Before tackling such difficult questions, we should be clear on what is meant by consciousness

[MonisticIdealism]

People find consciousness mysterious because they try everything to explain consciousness rather than using consciousness to explain everything.

[playpaltalk]

My reality is telling that that picture hanging on the wall behind Dr. Kieth Ward needs realigment.

[evaadam]

The fact that you have the power to even ask why consciousness is mysterious screams loudly that your consciousness is in fact mysterious...

..because, if indeed you are just simply physical matter driven by physical laws beyond control, not free like a programmed clueless robot, there is no way possible you would be free to ask any question while being bound by material science or physics all the time.

[chayanbosu]

God Sri Krishna says our existence consist of 3 levels 1.Gross body 2.Subtle body mind, intellect and ego 3.Soul .Now conciousness emarges from soul and mind is the interface between outer world and soul.

[joyjoy]

Sheer arrogance of us that everything can be proved using so called science is what is limiting us from getting answers on consciousness.

[-by-_Publishing_LLC]

(3:45) *KE: **_It's not really a big surprise to say that human consciousness is connected to a wider, cosmic form of consciousness."_* ... It only takes one small cognitive step to think of consciousness as *information.* And if you can, then all of "Existence" opens up to you. Instead of thinking, _"What came before (fill in the blank)?"_ and _"What is more fundamental than (fill in the blank)?'", _ you simply accept that everything that is logically conceivable represents *information* (including consciousness).

Then you use that big, physical brain of yours to deduce what the most minimalistic, logically conceivable representation of that information can be, and you start from there! The least amount of information that's logically possible is:

*Existence = 1*
*Nonexistence = 0*

Everything has evolved from that basic archetypal assessment, and your self-aware consciousness is just the latest stage of its ongoing evolution. The same logic that gets you to a starting point of *0* and *1* also tells you that everything that follows must be _interconnected._

In other words, *_"What happens in existence stays in existence."_*

[tajzikria]

Human consciousness or the microcosm is part of the universal consciousness or macrocosm.

[michaelshortland]

I think the problem with consciousness is that it can not be observed, we might see effects that we subscribe to consciousness but consciousness itself is more like a belief than science. We have not observed it or weighed it, and do not really know what it is or were it comes from, so a lot of the theories about consciousness are more akin to religion than science.

[thomassoliton]

Finally - someone I agree with. Start with “knowledge is what we are conscious of”. But can you know what consciousness is? Is C a form of knowledge? And if so, is the “knowledge” of consciousness itself? If I ask you “are you conscious”, presumably you will say yes - but how do you know you are? To say you are is to reflect on your memory of your conscious experiences and realize that a few moments ago you were experiencing something else. But where are you mentally when you do that? In your past / present. Your present experience of your immediate past. When you reflect on the past you are neither in the present nor in the past. And, as the Firesign Theater put it, “How can you be in two places at once when you’re not anywhere at all?” You cannot “know” that state; it is not an objective form of knowledge like seeing a car or remembering driving your car this morning. Still, you experience that state all the time, everytime you think about something that’s in your working memory or in your past - and you know everyone else has that same experience. So we collectively have come up with a name for it - consciousness. It is never (or rarely if ever) the same for anyone, and you cannot recall it because that is precisely what it is - recall. So, to sum up, you can know what you know, and you can know what you don’t know, but you can’t know what you can’t know - and one thing you can’t know is consciousness.

[ptimal]

We have a major blind spot somewhere thats keeping us from seeing further. The answer to the consciousness riddle when reasonably understood is almost certainly simple, yet still profound. It surely aligns with already known fundamental truths, but in ways we are not seeing. Someone, or many someones, know through intuition what we will all know one day, but their voice is kept to a whisper because its simply not currently provable. Listen to the whispers, dont disregard the seemingly far fetched.

[Dion_Mustard]

I can only speak for myself when I say consciousness is totally unique and MORE than brain. How do I know this? Well because I've had 3 Out of Body Experiences and various Lucid Dream states, whereby my consciousness was NOT inside my head. It was non-local, so to speak. Therefore, as much as I cannot convince the skeptics, and I wouldn't wish to anyway, I am 100% convinced Consciousness is very unique and fundamental in the universe. I never used to think such things as OBEs were possible. But it's real.

[kallianpublico]

Interesting tension. The "...pursuit of the good and the beautiful.." versus the search for coherence or foundations. Desire versus reason.
If reality is a bargain between consciousness and self-consciousness, mediated by the insinct of "survival", then desire and reason are the time and space of reality. Desire implies the starting point by giving the destination: foundations; while reason navigates the way using pretexts/purpose: coherence.

Are electrons a particle of matter or a desire to get somewhere from someplace else. Similarly, where are all those photons going? They're bouncing off of everything imparting and absorbing energy? Don't they get tired? Is there a place they all end up - the great photon attractor?

[NeoFrontierTechnologies]

It is only mysterious if you do not know the perfect logic behind it, or refuse to accept the perfect logic behind it. So what is the perfect logic behind it ? Those who will accept the logic behind it will also know what it is sooner or later. You must figure it out yourself. Prove yourself able through willingness to do what it takes. When you know the absolute truth you do not need the agreement of the masses nor the agreement of anyone or any minority. Those who will know the truth does not need a teacher. A teacher can accelerate the learning of a willing one, but a willing one will find the truth anyway, with or without a teacher. With that said I wish the willing ones all of the best.

[ASLUHLUHC]

I'm not a believer in Christianity or other similar religions, but I resonate with views of this pastor. A diversity of views to chew on is a great thing about this channel.