In “What is the Measure of Consciousness” and “Is A Rock Conscious?“ we take consciousness from its indescribable, unfindable, unscientific, mysterious, anthropomorphic foundations and move it to something that can be identified, measured, qualified, and quantified.
It allows us to move from seemingly simple questions that cannot be answered — “Is this conscious?” and if so, “How conscious?” — and provide a straightforward answer.
“It is conscious, and its consciousness can be determined and measured by its response to stimuli.
Since everything, from an electron to the universe responds to stimuli, everything is conscious, the measure being the quantity and quality of the stimuli and the responses.
In “Does Free Will Exist?” and “More about non-existent free will,” we remind the reader that the brain—what you think, believe, and do—is affected by chemicals and electrical signals.
So, we cannot claim free will when continually exposed to such chemicals as Cortisol, Thyroid Hormones, Estrogen and Testosterone, Insulin. Melatonin, Serotonin, Dopamine. Ghrelin, Leptin, Alcohol, Caffeine, and Nicotine, along with physical exhaustion, thirst, hunger, odors, sound, touch, pain, temperature, disease, age, and all the other physical and psychological inputs.
You cannot know the current effects of all those inputs at any point in time, much less filter them out to arrive at purely “free will.”
The inescapable conclusion is that while, to some degree, everything is conscious, nothing has free will.
Yet they are intuitively related, sometimes in the reverse. That is, our intuition says that many things are not conscious and many things do have free will.
As the history of human thought, and specifically the recent Relativity and Quantum Mechanics theories, have taught us, our intuition is not reality.
Intuition works reasonably well when helping us survive in our limited lifestyles, but it is a complete bust when we try to discover the secrets of the universe.
Very few things are as they seem to us.
The stars, sun, and moon do not rotate around us. Nothing can exceed the speed of light, though entangled particles seem to do it.
When we go very fast, we age slower and lengthen, and very small things can be in two places simultaneously.
And if those weren’t weird enough, our mere observation can change reality.
There is a commonality among consciousness, free will, Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics. All involve intuition.
Intuition is that gut feeling or instinctive knowing without the need for conscious reasoning. It’s like a mental shortcut that helps you make decisions quickly.Historically, arguments about the existence of consciousness and free will have been based on “my intuition is better than your intuition,“ not on what we consider scientific reasoning.Think of it as your brain drawing on past experiences, patterns, and subconscious cues to guide you, often without you even realizing it.
The people who have told me that free will does exist are absolutely positive about this. Why? They feel they are free to make their own decisions.
However, they cannot know how chemicals and physical sensing impact their judgment and decision-making. They are like people who have never been away from home, arguing against the existence of homesickness. The brain cannot tell what effects have changed it.
They do not know what they cannot know.
No brain can process all available information, so brains take shortcuts and make assumptions. The brain survives by filling the sensory blanks with illusions.
The brain cannot process its inner workings. It receives electronic inputs related to light, sound, and touch. It creates illusions about what those inputs mean, then sends signals to itself and other parts of the body based on interpretations of the illusions.
We name that translation “consciousness.”
The problem occurs when you get to specifics.
Question: Is a bee conscious?
AI Answer: Consciousness involves awareness of oneself and the environment. While bees exhibit complex behaviors and communication skills, whether they possess consciousness similar to humans is still debated. They operate on instinct and learned behaviors but don’t seem to have self-awareness.
Question: Do bees play?:
Answer: If bumblebees can play, does it mean they have feelings? This study suggests yes
The industrious insects can count and alter their behavior when things seem difficult, and now some scientists say there’s proof they also like to play. A study recently published in Animal Behavior suggests that bumblebees, when given the chance, like to fool around with toys.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London conducted an experiment in which they set up a container that allowed bees to travel from their nest to a feeding area. But along the way, the bees could opt to pass through a separate section with a smattering of small wooden balls. Over 18 days, the scientists watched as the bees “went out of their way to roll wooden balls repeatedly, despite no apparent incentive to do so.”
The study’s first author, Samadi Galpayage, at Queen Mary University of London, added that it is yet more evidence that insects may be capable of experiencing feelings.
“They may actually experience some kind of positive emotional states, even if rudimentary like other larger animals do.
The finding suggests that insects, like humans, interact with inanimate objects as a form of play. Similar to people, younger bees seemed to be more playful than adult bees.
SUMMARY
While people may equate free will with consciousness, the two are mutually exclusive.
The measure of consciousness is reaction to stimuli, but reacting to stimuli eliminates freedom of will.
If reactions to stimuli define and measure consciousness, then everything that reacts is conscious on some level.
And if “free will” means being unaffected by external and internal influences, it cannot exist. Nothing is immune to inputs.
Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
PS As I was writing this, I became very drowsy and was going to quit. Hey, I’m nearly 90 years old.
But I drank a can of Celsius, which contains lots of “B” vitamins, plus the equivalent of two cups of coffee. All those chemicals made my drowsiness evaporate, so I’m able to finish this post.
One might argue that my “free will” let me continue, but that doesn’t consider all the other things going on in my body — all the medicines, breakfast foods, temperature, the comfort of my chair, etc. — that made me keep writing.
Free will is a placebo, an illusion, though a pretty strong one. Monetary Sovereignty
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