Human Consciousness: The Role of Cerebral and Cerebellar Cortex, Vagal Afferents, and Beyond

This chapter argues for a holistic perception of human consciousness that integrates ancient wisdom with modern scientific advances. It contends that the dominant materialistic approach, which views consciousness solely as a brain function, is insufficient. The authors propose revisiting Cartesian dualism with a new perspective informed by heart-brain communication, astrophysical resonances with human heart and central nervous system frequencies, and signaling between humans and their environment. They suggest that neural and psychological correlates of consciousness should be reconceptualized to see consciousness as a universal event extending from genes to galaxies, with the cerebral cortex as a major player.

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Abstract

Human Consciousness is one of most elusive issues in the scientific history. Its nature created major historical debate started thousands of years ago and still ongoing. Despite the explosive developments in the last 6 decades to explore its nature, the knowledge about it is still deficient. The important advances in the twentieth and 21st centuries in understanding cerebral cortex dynamics fortified by the dominant materialistic philosophical approach of the era dictated its impact on consciousness science, which is understood as sole human brain function. This chapter is a call for holistic perception of human consciousness incorporating the ancient wisdom of the human civilizations with the massive current advances in different disciplines of applied sciences. The description of René Descartes in the 17th century of the Cartesian dualism is timely to revisit with new holistic perspective, in view of the major advances of our understanding of heart brain communications, astrophysical resonances with, human heart and central nervous system frequencies, and signaling between humans and their large environment. Neural and psychological correlates of human consciousness which dominate the consciousness research nowadays should undergo revolutionary conceptual understanding to perceive consciousness as a massive universal event expanding from human genes to galaxies with cerebral cortex as major player.