Metzinger, Seth, and Bach - A Functioning Model of Consciousness
Greetings, fellow seekers of the arcane,
In our quest to understand the nature of consciousness, we often find ourselves navigating a labyrinth of theories, each offering a unique perspective. More often than not, people tend to follow the path “It is a mystery, I don’t have to explain a thing”. Which is, for obvious reasons, not very productive. So today, let's delve into the insights of three of my favorite contemporary thinkers: Thomas Metzinger, Anil Seth, and Joscha Bach. By weaving their ideas together, we might just find a comprehensive model of what consciousness is and how it operates.
Remember - knowledge is power and what you understand, you can control. There is scarcely a greater knowledge than that of one’s own mind and with that comes appropriate magical strength.
Metzinger's "Ego Tunnel" presents the idea that the unified self is an illusion, a construct of our brain. In that, he is very perennial and many a great religion or philosophy would agree with him. He argues that what we perceive as "self" is merely a model created by our brain to interpret and predict our interactions with the world. This model, or the "phenomenal self," is what we experience as consciousness. It's like being in a VR simulation (the Ego Tunnel) where we're not directly experiencing reality but a representation of it.
Anil Seth's "Being You" complements Metzinger's views by suggesting that our perception of reality is a controlled hallucination. Again, this is a scientific way to say “the world is an illusion”. According to Seth, the brain is a prediction machine, constantly making educated guesses about the external world based on sensory input and prior experiences. When these predictions align with the actual sensory input, we experience it as "reality." Consciousness, in Seth's view, arises from these ongoing interactions between our brain's predictions and the sensory information it receives. A predictive model.
Joscha Bach's insights are adding another layer to this intricate tapestry, Joscha Bach posits that consciousness is a side effect of our brain's information processing. He suggests that our mind is a multi-layered system, with each layer processing information at different resolutions. Consciousness emerges as these layers interact, creating a unified model of the world and our place in it.
Weaving it All Together
When we combine these perspectives, a fascinating picture emerges:
The Illusion of Self: Metzinger's Ego Tunnel suggests that our sense of self is a construct, a model created by our brain to navigate the world.
Reality as a Controlled Hallucination: Seth's idea posits that our brain constantly predicts the nature of the external world, and what we perceive as reality is a result of these predictions aligning with sensory input.
Consciousness as Information Processing: Bach's insights suggest that consciousness emerges from the intricate interactions of multi-layered information processing in our brains.
Together, these ideas present a model where consciousness is an emergent property of our brain's continuous efforts to model and predict its interactions with the world. Our sense of self and our perception of reality are intricately linked, both being products of our brain's sophisticated information-processing mechanisms.
So, fellow mages, as we ponder the mysteries of consciousness, let us remember that our perception of self and reality might be more fluid and constructed than we once believed. There is a bit less mystery about how it works. And in this understanding, we find not only a deeper appreciation for the marvel that is the human mind but also a call to explore the boundaries of our own consciousness.
Until next time, keep seeking, keep questioning, and remember - the magic is within you, in the intricate dance of neurons and predictions that give rise to the wonder of consciousness.
Felix
Another very good book on the topic that adds a lot of information to the picture we painted here is “A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence” - I highly recommend reading all three books I mention here in order “Ego Tunnel → Being You → A Thousand Brains” for an absolutely stunning, cutting edge scientific insight into what consciousness is, how it works, and how and why it is constructed by the brain.