The question of whether human consciousness can survive
permanent bodily death is one of the most tantalizing enigmas of our
existence. Unfortunately, most scientists shy away from addressing
this enigma. Many seem to think that there is not much to investigate
because it has already been shown that consciousness is produced by
brain chemistry, and will dissolve as soon as neuronal activity ceases.
However, I am convinced that this notion is inappropriate for two
reasons.
First, from a theoretical perspective, nothing in physics and chemistry
predicts that protons, electrons, atoms, or molecules will produce
something like consciousness. Therefore, trying to explain consciousness
in physicochemical terms amounts to backward reasoning from the start.
In fact, William James, the founder of American psychology, argued
more than 100 years ago that it is principally impossible to prove
that brain chemistry produces consciousness—all we can observe
are “concomitant variations” of brain states and states
of consciousness. Accordingly, many modern neuroscientists speak of
“neuronal correlates” to states of consciousness in order
to avoid fostering the unwarranted notion that consciousness is produced
by neuronal activity. Indeed, there is not even a strict parallelism
between brain states and states of consciousness.
Second, from a practical perspective, many scientists have already
investigated phenomena at the frontiers of knowledge that question
the physicochemical “production hypothesis” of consciousness.
These phenomena have chiefly been studied in research disciplines
known as psychical research or parapsychology. The phenomena themselves
are usually referred to as telepathy (conveying knowledge or feelings
from one individual to another without using the usual sensory channels),
clairvoyance (perceiving information or events without using the usual
sensory channels), precognition and retrocognition (perceiving future
or past events), and psychokinesis (psychically affecting matter).
These psi phenomena occur comparably rarely, but they do occur and
they are perfectly natural. Millions of people have experienced them
in everyday life.
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