Theory of Language and Meaning in Phenomenological Structuralism
Archives in Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology 2019 DOI: 10.33552/abeb.2019.01.000518 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Linguistics |
| Key points | The paper argues that Mocombe's phenomenological structuralism, which grounds human behavior and consciousness in practical activity and practical consciousness, aligns with the ORCH-OR theory's view that consciousness arises from discrete quantum-computational moments tied to brain neuronal processes via microtubules, and that a proto-conscious experience, or psychion, existed in the universe before becoming embodied through emergent brain structures. |
Abstract
Paul C Mocombe’s [1] structurationist theory of phenomenological structuralism, in keeping with the logic of structurationist sociology, assumes practical activity and consciousness, i.e., practical consciousness, to be the basis for understanding human behavior and consciousness in the world. Consciousness here refers to subjective awareness of phenomenal experiences (ideology, language, self, feelings, choice, control of voluntary behavior, thoughts, etc.) of internal and external worlds. The academic literature “describes three possibilities regarding the origin and place of consciousness in the universe: (A) as an emergent property of complex brain neuronal computation, (B) as spiritual quality of the universe, distinct from purely physical actions, and (C) as composed of discrete ‘proto-conscious’ events acting in accordance with physical laws not yet fully understood” Hameroff & Penrose [2]. The latter position, (C), represents the ORCH-OR (“orchestrated objective reduction”) theory of [2], which includes aspects of (A) and (B), and posits that “consciousness consists of discrete moments, each an ‘orchestrated’ quantum-computational process terminated by... an action objective reduction or OR rooted in quantum aspects of the fine structure of space—time geometry, this being coupled to brain neuronal processes via microtubules”. In this view, the understanding is that a protoconscious experience existed in the universe, panpsychism, and as a result of emergent structures of the brain it (proto-conscious experience, psychion) became embodied and evolved as a result of quantum neuronal computations of “brains”.