Emergence Of Consciousness And Qualia From A Complex Brain
Folia Medica December 1, 2014 Jakob Korf
Qualia—private conscious experiences with associated feelings that can be reported—have often been considered beyond scientific study, but this article argues they are amenable to investigation. The brain changes continuously and irreversibly due to genetic, environmental, and communicative influences; qualia and consciousness are processes, not states. Private feelings should be understood in the context of a personal brain developed over a lifetime. Consciousness and qualia should be viewed through general system theory, meaning isolated properties of neurons contribute little to understanding higher brain functions. Current in vivo methods lack the spatial and temporal resolution to capture individual subjective brain processes. The article suggests that once subtle personalized nervous system properties can be assessed, qualia can be scientifically studied, and discusses approaches to overcome these barriers.