If you weren't of sound mind and memory, you wouldn't be reading this article now (or at least you wouldn't know that you are reading it). It is believed that consciousness is responsible for all our thoughts, experiences and feelings. Without it, people would lack free will, a sense of self-preservation, and there would be no idea of the reality of the world around them. French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes said: "I think, which means I am." But what if this assumption is not correct?
Social construct
How would you feel if you were told that free will and personal responsibility are just social constructs? Scientists understand this phenomenon as a product of a particular culture that exists due to the consent of people to follow certain rules. It is likely that our consciousness cannot control our beliefs, feelings, thoughts, and even our perception of the world. This is precisely the conclusion reached by David Oakley of University College London and Peter Halligan of Cardiff University. Scientists have put forward a whole theory that takes into account the latest research in the field of cognitive neuroscience, as well as in the field of neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Personal Choice or Choice Awareness?
According to Oakley and Halligan, the content of consciousness is generated spontaneously, through rapid, efficient and unrelated brain processes. All this happens without interference from human awareness. We, like passengers, sit in a seat and just watch the train pick up speed. In other words, none of us is able to control our consciousness when choosing thoughts and feelings, some unknown force confronts us with a fact (makes us aware of our choice).
Where does the waking sensation come from?
If this statement seems strange to you, we suggest that you recall the usual picture of morning awakening. As soon as you wake up, you already have the ability to feel something, but in a dream you did not have the opportunity to control your brain processes. Having opened your eyes, have you ever wondered where certain thoughts come from in your head and why they appeared there already formed? This is similar to how the brain remembers previously seen colors and shapes of objects and can recognize them without the help of consciousness. In addition, Oakley and Halligan assure that all neuropsychological processes (movement, speech) can also occur on their own, at an unconscious level.
Based on previous research
These findings were made possible, in part, by research examining the effects of hypnosis on humans. As it turned out, thoughts, moods and perceptions of a person can be seriously changed through suggestion. In laboratory experiments, volunteers were immersed in a state of deep hypnosis, and then the hypnotist, using suggestion, changed the experience and experiences of people.
In one test, participants were divided into three groups. Participants from the first group were asked to consciously raise their hand, and the second group raised their hand using the power of suggestion. The remaining participants were also hypnotized, but their hand was set in motion by a special mechanism. In parallel, the researchers also recorded data on brain activity. As it turned out, participants from all three groups were working on the same brain regions.
Inga Kaisina