Notes: Consciousness, Dogs Decoded and Religion Explained

The Human Quest of  Consciousness:

-“I think therefore I am” – Rene Decart (he split body and soul. Physical vs. mental)

-What and where is consciousness?

-the core of our beings exist independently from our bodies.

(Hinduism belief is reincarnation)

-Mirror self recognition tests for children.

-The brain is at the core of all of this, obviously, through lots of neurons and how they are connected. 

-Tasting receptors link physical act of the tongue to a mental neuron, scientists call this a representation  (a pattern of concentrated neurons)

-Neuroself- state of brain constructed by ingredients leading to subjectivity

-Cartesian Theatre: life is a private movie staring… our individual selves.

-You are conscious of what you want to b conscious of, we see what we want to see (red balloons signal subjectivity of color)

-Consciousness derives from sensory receptors, man who lost arm in motorcycle accident still feels sensations in his “phantom limb”

-Emotions and facial expressions are from changes in central nervous system, usually not conscious of this, they are innate activities of brain and evolution.

-Hypnosis:  a split in conscious awareness or dissociation, same with multiple personality disorder.

-QWERTY, we build off of evolution, adding new modules as we need them

-Binding everything, consciousness is in harmonies of the brain.

-When we dream, our sense of self returns as we star in our nighttime adventure, brain is able to retain self of self despite  absence of sensory input.

-“I feel therefore I am” feelings are the result of consciousness 

MAIN IDEA: Our feelings and emotions revolving our sense of self not only derive from sensory receptors in our brains, but through our innate ability of consciousness. 

DOGS DECODED:

-We treat dogs as members of family

-Scientists are now attempting to understand dogs and our bonds as humans with them using eye tracking technology.

-Dogs can sense human moods and emotions through facial expressions.

-The left side of the face showcases more emotions, dogs are the only animal species that look to the left, proving we as humans have an intense emotional relationship with them.

-Different barks represent different wants and needs and emotions and humans can tell based on barks.

-biochemical signature through oxytocin which helps mother have positive bond with newborn baby and this plays a similar bond with dogs and their owners (DNA tests show boosts of this in both the owners and their dogs)

-Where did dogs come from? There are so many different breeds. Genetics show evolutionary DNA sequences linking dogs to their ancestors. (Grey wolf)

-Domestication changed everything 100,000 years is when it probably started, and our relationship with dogs go back thousands of years, when we were hunter/gatherers.

-Influence of dogs on our development is pivotal, humans would still be hunter/gathers, making civilization impossible.

-Dogs may think more like humans more like any other animal including the Chimpanzee

-Dogs responding to pointing/glances proves social intelligence.

-Betsy knows words and responds to them.

-Dogs and wolves are like 98% the same, so is the reason why dogs respond to humans is because they are so domesticated? –(experiment with raising wolf cubs as puppies proves that is isn’t an issue of domestication but genetics… puppies are responsive whereas these wolves are not)

-Scientists in Russia breeding foxes proving domestication links with genetics and compares tame v. aggressiveness.

-Tamer foxes produces less adrenaline levels, genetically.

 Main Idea: Dogs are the most successful animals to have in domestication, due of their evolutionary, genetic abilities and skill of reading human behavior. 

Religion Explained:

-What is origin of religion? 

-Pascal begins with vignettes showcasing religion as nothing but ridiculous folly to some, but comprehension of God and the universe to others.

-Pascal showcases religion as just another set of difficult but manageable problems. 

-Religion is to be found in the human mind.

-Religion explains things to us (people created religion to explain puzzling natural phenomena, dreams, prescience, the origin of things, why there is evil and suffering)

-Religion provides comfort (makes mortality less unbearable, allays anxiety and makes for a comfortable world, provides social order, perpetuates a social order, supports morality.)

-People will believe anything.

-Catholicism v. Hinduism (such groups are often described as having animistic or tribal religion... which virtually means nothing)

-Christians, Buddhist, Baptist.. it goes deeper in how people conceive of supernatural agents and what they think these agents are like or what they can do, in the morality this derived from religious beliefs, in the rituals performed and in many other ways.    

-Religion is about the existence of casual powers and nonobserverable entities and agencies.

-Buddhism- reincarnation. 

-Salvation is not always a central preoccupation.

-Official religion is not the whole of religion. 

-You can also have religion without having religion.

-You can have religion without faith/faith w/out religion.

-**Relation was created to explain puzzling mental phenomena and make people feel better about themselves, give people a purpose or something to believe in

-The mind as a bundle of explanation machines 

-The urge to explain in the universe is not the origin of religion 

-The need to explain particular occurrences seems to lead to strangely baroque constructions 

-You cannot explain religious concepts if you d onto describe how they are used by individual minds 

-A different angle: Religious concepts are probably influenced by the Brain's inference systems producing explanations without our being aware of it.

-Religious concepts do not always provide reassurance or comfort.

-Deliverance from mortality is not quite the universal longing we often assume.

-Religious concepts are indeed connected to human emotional systems, which are connected to life-threatening circumstances.

-Our emotional programs are an aspect of evolutionary heritage, which may explain how they affect religious concepts

-Religion cannot be explained by the need to keep society together or to preserve morality because these needs do not create institutions

-Social interaction and morality are indeed crucial to how we acquire religion and how it influences' people's behavior.

-The study of social mind can show us why people have particular expectations about social life and morality and how these expectations are connected to supernatural concepts.

Main Idea: Religion simply exists to provide the conscious mind with comfort and has no rules, it keeps society together, and links an idea of morality with faith. Basically, religion isn't one singular thing or bullet. Cultural concepts come into play and it is always different because we have different minds. That's why we all disagree and have so many questions about the topic of religion.