Connecting art to Philosophy and Science.

Philosophical and Scientific Topics:

You are That.

A proof for the golden rule (in case you needed one). And find a little calmness and peace with the knowledge that there is an ever-present fundamental force we call consciousness. The fundamental force of consciousness is present in all things, it is everywhere in the universe, it never “dies”…at the very basic level this may very well be the real you. Therefore, the consciousness that your body uses to animate itself is likely  present in all things and is the same force in all people. The electrons in my body are exactly the same as the the electrons in your body, and so with all other fundamental particles down to the quarks…why would it be any different with fundamental consciousness? At the most fundamental level then, hurting another person literally hurts you and helping another person helps you. You are that.

The cool thing is, this philosophy work even if you are a materialist believing that consciousness only arises from the matter and electricity in your brain. Where was the

matter of your brain before you were born? It existed in different forms because your brain was built from the food you ate. Where does the brain ultimately get the electricity that powers neuron firing? The sun. Where do all other brains get their energy from? The same sun!. For a materialist then, you also believe that your brain, my brain, and all other brains are totally dependent on pre-existent matter and energy from the sun. Tat Tvam Asi. Do the same thought process for the oxygen your brain is using right now to support your consciousness as you read this page. Trace the oxygen’s origin as far back as you can…is your consciousness completely dependent on oxygen from trees and phytoplankton in natural and clean bodies of water? If so, you are that…the trees and the phytoplankton…an so am I. This philosophy is designed to bring your mind peace and calmness. This philosophy is totally compatible with any religion, all religions, or no religion…whatever your personal beliefs are!

What is matter?

Matter is not what we think it is based on our common-sense, every-day experience. Matter is basically the way we experience forces and energy.

Is matter really material?

Quantum field theory…everything is actually vibrations in some pre-existing, omni-present field?

What is consciousness?

Hard problem of consciousness. There are many competing aspects of consciousness and there is not a single defintion or set of definitions for the word. When a person says the word consciousness you first have to ask them to say what they mean by the term. Here, I define consciousness as qualia, the experience you have or redness when you see a red rose even or the experience you have in a dark and quiet room…you have an experience of “youness.” That being said, some mainstream scientists will insist that the brain generates consciousness and somehow brains have consciousness and nothing else in the universe does. The insist that it is conceivable for everything in the world to exists as it does now without consciousness…our brain could be like PC’s being carried to and fro by our legs and there would be no qualia, no consciousness. This claim comes from circular reasoning and a human-centric assumption. That we, humans, have qualia, and a brain…therefore brains cause consciousness and anything without a brain does not experience qualia or consciousness. Christof Koch of the Allen Institute for Brain Science is a great neuroscientist and does many excellent presentations to the public full of fascinating information on how the observable brain works. That being said, he also demonstrates what I think is a flawed assumption by some mainstream brain scientists. Mr. Koch this assumption starting at 6:00 minutes into the linked video,“…This is the fact the we know. We can study black holes, we can study viruses, and we can study brains and science studies all of those objects. Brains, however, come we believe different from viruses and different from black holes with additional property: it feels like something to be a brain…we believe they [feelings of qualia/consciousness] are not inside a virus or inside a black hole.” This is a philosophical assumption that cannot every be tested. They assume that humans/things with brains are the only beings that have consciousness because we are humans/have brains. How can a human scientist ever know if a virus doesn’t have virus qualia? A virus knows whether is is on its way inside or outside of a cell, it certainly acts with intention a performs a complex set of tasks. How could it do this without a basic awareness of the information present in its surroundings? And if it has awareness and information then why not qualia? A black hole may very well have some kind of black hole consciousness. Scientists don’t have direct instruments to measure consciousness and humans don’t have sense organs to detect possible virus, black hole, or even solar system-level consciousness. Can we assume that something we can’t measure or perceive doesn’t exists?

Modern neuroscience does a great job studying the neural correlates of consciousness…which is an endlessly cool subject to study and very practical for solving health and other human factors problems. However, it is called “correlation” for a specific technical reason. They know that correlation does not ever equal causation. They are not measuring consciousness, they are measuring blood flow, oxygen, temperature, and electrical activity in the brain. As far a science is able to demonstrate, it is possible to take the opposite assumption: that a fundamental force called consciousness causes the measurable brain activities.

The philosophical learning process.

Allegory of the cave.

What is a neuron?

type type type

Why do neuron groups look like the universe?

Does this visual evidence support the theory that universe is itself conscious…just a big neural network? Tat tvam asi? Fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot: Fractals and the art of roughness…similarity at all scales - if true would that apply to the mental not just visual/material?

Incorporating philosophy and science “under the hood” of art.

Knowing the philosophy and science behind the art delivers the viewer a sense of peace, calmness, and oneness.