Leading Russian neuroscientists at the first ever joint conference with the 14th Dalai Lama and Buddhist monks-scientists, held this week in Delhi, declared the need for a new theory of the nature of consciousness and its relationship with brain activity.
“Russian science has been focusing on consciousness for 150 years. And the materialistic understanding of consciousness in it differs from the classical materialism of Western science. The main question is the relationship between consciousness and the brain. I think what we need now is not experiments, but a new, bold fundamental theory. This is our message to Buddhist science: we need such a theory, and we cannot create it based on subjective experience alone. This new theory can influence methods, discover new techniques, pay attention to meditation, said Konstantin Anokhin, the head of the neuroscience department of the Kurchatov Institute, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.
He was supported by the Honored Worker of Russian Science, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Doctor of Philology, neurolinguist Tatyana Chernigovskaya, as well as other Russian conference participants, psychologists, philosophers.
“The amount of empirical data we have is growing every minute. We have reached a certain dead end, because we do not know what to do with this amount. We can decompose this data on the shelves and, of course, there are ways of processing, but we are not going anywhere further. From the fact that I will examine each of your cells, there will be no impression of what kind of person you are. From the fact that I will dig in the brain and pull out each neuron from there, I will not get a picture of how it works. Well, another 30 billion neurons were investigated - next what? What question do we answer? - None. You need a genius who would say: you formulate questions incorrectly, ask another question. The moment has clearly come when a new theory is urgently needed, Chernigovskaya explained to RIA Novosti.
Moreover, the key role, she believes, is now played by philosophy. “And in Buddhist philosophy these questions are very well worked out. So neuroscientists need to study this,”the professor said.
Dalai Lama XIV and Russian scientists at a conference in Delhi (Right to left: Dalai Lama, Konstantin Anokhin, Tatiana Chernigovskaya). / RIA Novosti / Olga Lipich
The goal is the good of all mankind
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A two-day meeting of the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism with Russian researchers in the capital of India, dedicated to the theme "The Nature of Consciousness", should initiate a multi-year international conference "Fundamental Knowledge: Dialogue between Russian and Buddhist Scientists." The goal of the organizers is to establish interaction in the study of physics and cosmology, evolution and biology, the nature of knowledge, axiology and ethics for a deeper knowledge of reality, "for the benefit of all mankind."
“For 30 years I have been doing serious research together with Western scientists in the field of cosmology, physics, especially quantum, philosophy, psychology. The first goal is to expand our knowledge through scientific research so that we can include emotions, consciousness, mind in the field of scientific research. In the XX-XXI centuries, more and more scientists are beginning to feel that there is something that has an impact on the human brain, and the nature of this phenomenon remains mysterious. Neuroplasticity research conducted today shows that meditation can have positive effects on the brain. Moreover, many Western scholars already say that constant stress and anger have a detrimental effect on health, while a calm mind is the opposite,”the Dalai Lama said.
He sees the second goal of interacting with scientists in raising the level of knowledge, awareness, compassion among the world's population as a whole - and thereby stopping wars, narrowing the gap between rich and poor, and making the world a happier place.
Buddhist monks-scientists at a conference with Russian scientists in Delhi / RIA Novosti / Olga Lipich
The Dalai Lama: "Consciousness is not equal to the brain"
“From a Buddhist point of view, there are several levels of consciousness, from the gross to the subtlest. And consciousness is not completely connected to the brain. Different levels of consciousness are manifested, for example, when in a dream we do not have feelings, but are conscious, or when a person faints. Even when a person has died, we (Buddhists - ed.) Know that consciousness is preserved,”said the Dalai Lama.
According to the Buddhist concepts of rebirth, consciousness is associated with life, and the subtlest level of consciousness "passes from life to life" and "has no genetic basis," the Dalai Lama added.
He cited examples, recently described by a Western professor, when children remember their previous lives down to the details of the objects that belonged to them, which are then found in places indicated by them from memory of their past life. “Where does this information come from to the brain? And where is it when a person dies? - suggested to investigate the Dalai Lama.
When asked by Russian scientists whether artificial intelligence can have consciousness, he replied that "it is extremely difficult." “Everything in the world is conditioned by cause-and-effect relationships, and consciousness, even at a very subtle level, can only be an extension of consciousness. And artificial intelligence is just particles,”the Buddhist spiritual leader believes.
A specialist in the field of analytical philosophy of consciousness, Professor David Dubrovsky (Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences) noted that thought does not have physical dimensions, such as mass, length, and the main question: how to explain the connection between thought and brain work? “It's called: the complex problem of consciousness. Western science has been dominated by reductionist concepts that reduce thought processes to physical or behavioral processes. In Russia, concepts prevailed that retained the specificity of subjective reality, a non-physical process,”summed up Dubrovsky.
Dalai Lama XIV and Russian scientists at a conference in Delhi / RIA Novosti / Olga Lipich
Energy of the Big Bang
The discussion also touched on the Big Bang theory. “According to our theory, there was no consciousness until there was life on earth, and in the beginning, living beings did not have memory - consciousness appeared as a result of evolution. The origins of consciousness are in emotions. Even the simplest organisms have emotions, experience satisfaction or suffering, depending on the achievement or non-achievement of something,”said professor-neurobiologist Anokhin.
Psychophysiologist Professor Yuri Aleksandrov (Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences) agreed that "emotions can be found even in algae."
"But the Big Bang requires a lot of energy - where did it come from?" the Dalai Lama asked. "Not out of mind or consciousness," answered Professor Anokhin. "How do you know? Energy is not material. We must explain why a huge amount of energy has a material basis - then it is the matter of the previous world … There is a contradiction here,”retorted the Buddhist leader.
According to him, at a very subtle level, the particles that formed the stones are the same ones that formed consciousness. "Why does one particle become a stone, and the other - consciousness?" - the Dalai Lama puzzled scientists.
Slides for the discussion of Russian and Buddhist scholars. Photo to illustrate part of the report where Einstein is mentioned. RIA Novosti / Olga Lipich
Schrödinger's cat, observer and tongue
Professor-neurolinguist Tatiana Chernigovskaya made a presentation "The Cheshire Smile of Schrödinger's Cat: Language and Consciousness." The essence of the famous experiment with "Schrödinger's cat" (one of the founders of quantum mechanics) is that a cat placed in a box is both dead and alive. We can only find out whether he is dead or alive when we open the box - that is, when there is an observer. “And the Cheshire cat, as you know, appeared in front of Alice out of nowhere and smiled at her,” said Chernigovskaya.
Niels Bohr, she recalled, argued that the observer is part of the scientific paradigm, and the data of the experiment depend on who conducts it. Einstein wrote that intuition is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. And a number of outstanding scientists of past years, one way or another, said that the outside world is built from within. “Will there be music, mathematics, if there is no listener and thinker? My answer is no. Mozart's music without a person will be just a vibration in the air,”added Chernigovskaya.
In her opinion, music and language, especially the poetic word, deserve special attention of neuroscientists. The professor quoted Brodsky's statement that poetry is an anthropological linguistic evolutionary beacon, an accelerator of consciousness. “Today a new science - biolinguistics - is trying to find universal features of the evolution of biological systems and language,” Chernigovskaya noted.
The Dalai Lama saw in the foregoing a lot in common with the content of Buddhist texts about the "interdependent nature of all phenomena." “That's right, all things are designations,” he added.
Famous Buddhist geshes (scholars) and young monks who have recently completed their science studies at Emory University (USA) and will then teach in Tibetan monasteries also actively participate in the conference. A lively discussion with Russian scientists takes place in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. And the Russians invited their Buddhist colleagues to formulate ideas for further scientific research and cooperation in the future.
Slide to the report of Tatyana Chernigovskaya “ Cheshire smile of Schrödinger's cat: language and consciousness ” at the first conference of Russian and Buddhist scientists. RIA Novosti / Olga Lipich
Olga Lipich