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The Holographic Hypothesis of Brain Function: A Meeting of Minds
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11322 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1986 |
3,354 Words |
| Author
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Karl Pribram
Karl Pribram, M.D., is a neurosurgeon. He formulated the
revolutionary holonomic theory of the brain function. During
the last three decades, he has conducted brain research at
Yale and Stanford universities. This article is taken, by
permission of SUNY Press, from Ancient Wisdom and Modern
Science |
The holographic principles that have emerged from science in the last twenty years represent the first instance since the time of Galileo that a scientific discovery, in and of itself, has led to a closer relationship with man's spiritual nature. In the past, science has been seen as something entirely separate from the spiritual nature of man, which has been taken care of by the esoteric traditions--of religion, not science. Now, with a paradigm shift in our understanding, scientists are face-to-face with the same traditions that have motivated the peoples of the East and have influenced Western philosophy as well. As Fritjof Capra has pointed out, many scientists in the last fifty years--especially physical scientists--have become aware of a convergence between these theories and ideas expressed in the Vedas and other Eastern sources.
Consciousness
What do we mean by consciousness? There are three rather different interpretations of the concept. The first refers to states of consciousness. If a cat suddenly walked in front of you and I asked you, "is the cat conscious?" you would say, "Of course, why do you ask?" Or if a surgeon comes into an examining room, finds a patient lying down, and pokes that person, who says, 'Look, I am trying to get a little bit of sleep here--I have been up all night," you do not say that person is unconscious. You know he has been in a state of consciousness that we call an ordinary state of sleep. If, however, the doctor pokes and the patient just groans a few times and turns over, or if he pokes harder and nothing happens, the patient is in a stupor. If he does not respond at all, he is in a coma. The cat's awareness, sleep, a coma, or stupor are among the states of consciousness.
A second definition in the Eastern tradition, is that mind and consciousness are extended. Consciousness is everywhere, and we happen to be particular instantiations or precipitations out of this consciousness.
A third definition refers to the difference there may be between what people do or how they behave, and what they are aware or conscious of doing. Someone who is hypnotized, for example, may be conscious of doing one thing while he or she is actually doing something else. This way of understanding consciousness is used in Western philosophy almost exclusively to mean a reflexive sort of consciousness, self- consciousness, or the distinction between self and other. This distinction is called "intentionality" in philosophy and is based on the idea that we can distinguish our awareness from
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