The Living Mirror Theory of Consciousness with Dr. James Cooke | Living Mirrors #2

Welcome to Living Mirrors with Dr. James Cooke. Living Mirrors is a new podcast in which neuroscientist Dr. James Cooke will be interviewing people on topics like consciousness, science, spirituality, meditation and the renaissance in psychedelic research. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.

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#consciousness #philosophy #science
We live in a world filled with suffering, where attempts to help have been split into largely separate scientific and spiritual communities. As a spiritually engaged neuroscientist I hope to communicate how these seemingly separate world views can be reconciled. I produce weekly videos on topics at the intersection of neuroscience and wellbeing, including consciousness, meditation and psychedelic science.

Dr. James Cooke:
Neuroscientist, writer & speaker, focusing on perception, meditation, psychedelics, mental health and wellbeing.
PhD in Neuroscience, Oxford University
MSc in Neuroscience, Oxford University
MA in Experimental Psychology, Oxford University

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[secretplans]

How exciting that you’re publishing a solution to the Hard Problem in the #1 academic journal of consciousness! That’s absolutely huge!! I can’t wait to read when it comes out. Congrats!!!!

[primetimedurkheim]

My friend was listening to this with me and he ended up having a mini episode of psychosis. Well done lol

[jacey]

Thanks so much for sharing the body of work you have obviously spent so much time and effort creating, it is really appreciated.

[anthonydavidson]

For Five thousand years the Hindu Vedic Temple has told us Ellam Andre = ALL is ONE! The Universe is within !!! Excellent presenter this guy is right on track kiddos my friend!

[freeda]

Fantastic thought provoking video. Thank you. Looking forward to hearing more. I always believed other tiny life forms must be conscious too just in the fact that they will try to stay alive ie attempt to swat a Fly & it quickly evades you. The Fly is conscious it must “keep its form” to survive.

[dasea]

The lion sees his reflection and suddenly realizes he is not the sheep. But in time he will be convinced he is the sheep having had a lion experience. Free will only exists for individuals. Ego only a belief in separation. Lovely to listen to this explanation. My first lsd experience laid bare😊

You've stated brilliantly how evolution takes advantage of consciousness - how the world gets mapped onto an internal representation, but that still doesn't explain why any of those internal representations have any subjective experience at all. Organisms seem to take advantage of the fact that THERE IS consciousness, the same way a bird takes advantage of the surrounding fluid, but the fact that mater has any capacity to feel like anything is still mysterious.

[garethjohnson]

Thanks James! I've watched a few of your previous vids where you've touched on similar points but good to see them all set out in one place here. Great that you are sharing your ideas with a wider audience and looking forward to hearing you discuss your ideas with others on the podcast.

[descartes]

Dear James, I appreciate your work and thank you for this video. However, I have to ask you the question: where exactly does your 'Living Mirror Theory of consciousness' solve or at least circumvent the 'Hard Problem of Consciousness'? In this Video you only give an explanation of »Why« it would be conducive for living organisms to obtain their constitutive form – and resist the second law of thermodynamics – to come up with an inner representation-system of mental states to mirror the sourrounding physical states of the organisms enviroment.
But if you remain a metaphysical physicist / materialist, what it seems to me, for example, if you say that the universe is essentially "physical stuff" that lacks inner experience, and that in the first moment where a living cell has formed, a fundamental transition has taken place from basically no consciousness "0" to the consciousness of this first cell "1" ever formed, you have to face the hard problem again, that is, one does not only have to explain why this is conducive to the survival of the organism to have these mental models, but to explain also "how" this mechanism works that leads to inner life. Because you see, If you are a physicalist, that is to deny that conciousness exist in the first place, the Hard Problem is exactly the problem of »How« this transition from "t1 non-conscious" to "t2 conscious" has or could possibly mechanically happen. With best regards. Yannick.

[scp--cu]

Im already beyond excited just from the name. I had a very similar concept of those words... I'll see if any of my perception and interpretation lines up with yours. Im very very... eXcited

[ForeverMasterless]

Idk that the fact that physical injuries effect your conciousness necessarily means that conciousness isn't fundamental and has to be an emergant property of a physical world. Think about debuffs in a video game. They effect the virtual experience of your character but that doesn't mean the experience isn't virtual. Physical injuries could simply impose limitations on your conciousness.

[nyworker]

Very good clear thinking....
The laws of nature stay the same at all levels.

[ostrari]

I'm gonna have an anxiety attack yet this is completely sensical😂

[jm]

I'm looking forward to reading the paper. Can you let us know as soon as we are able to read? I enjoy knowing that you have a background in neuroscience and definitely look forward to visiting the Surrender Homestead! : )

[leahlincoln]

Yes yes I like it at the end when you come around claiming that it looks like the unconscious is just another form of conscience you're really getting somewhere! very very sweet I have heard nobody say that except you of course I don't get around much yeah so I really like this Theory you do give a vague definition of the word Consciousness I would like it to be described more specifically by anybody when they use it so for me if you're referring to Consciousness as awareness that is able to observe its own awareness, which I would also define, but not here too much information, I entirely agree. Discovered you through Michael Levin's post, , because I've been watching every video of him I see thank you very much for this video look forward to learning more about you❤BEM❤

[carlt]

Wonderful James, thank you .  
Question: - With your model - Is the Biosphere a 'contained life process'. Is the Universe a 'contained life process' ? 
 
Using the esoteric model of Sacred Geometry, which Pythagoras reframed as Microcosm-Macrocosm, expanding your model with this in mind we end up with a conscious Universe.

In your description the 'single celled conscious organisms' might 'experience' us as their universe, in much the same way as we 'experience' the Universe. 

eg. lactobacillus 'experiences' the gut biome as their 'world'/biosphere, the human body as their universe.

[metaversetv]

What would you classify the awareness of say two huge planets tugging on each other's gravity, or chemical reactions, etc. Aren't they in a way reacting to the same system? Sorry if this is a stupid question :)

[nyworker]

What keeps the office tidy is a memory or information or pattern that can be used to reorder the office or even order more identical offices.

[SidePocket]

The see'er of seeing can't be seen.
The hearer of hearing can't be heard.
The know-er of knowing can't be known.
That which can't be known by the mind, But that by which the mind is known.
Know this to be the witnessing consciousness or the true self.
That witnessing consciousness that lights up the mind but the mind can not know.
Nothing is ever created, And nothing is ever destroyed.
Be as you are everything is already fulfilled and complete.

[ZackMester]

A self-driving car could be supplied with the information of when to go get an oil change, order its own parts when necessary, and go to the gas station by itself. Would this vehicle then be considered a conscious, feeling agent?