What Does the Mind Do That the Brain Does Not

The purpose of this article is to discuss various issues relevant to the nature of independent action by consciousness. Two forms of independent action by consciousness have been proposed by various researchers: free will and holistic processing, and both will be discussed. (Holistic processing contributes to the formation of behavior through the holistic use of brain programs and encoding.) An experiment by Libet et al. [1] has shown that if free will exists, it must act as a selection process, and this result will be taken into account. We will also draw upon the findings of a number of other contemporary researchers, and originate some ideas herein, in discussing these issues. We will see that the effect of any independent action of consciousness on the brain/nervous system must be very small, that holistic processing must be a selection effect, that versatility of response to varying conditions can indicate the possible presence of consciousness in an animal, and that because locomotion involves varying conditions, simple forms of conscious experience are likely to occur very early in the evolutionary line of animals. There is wide variation in the meaning of terms such as consciousness, awareness and free will, so the meaning of these words herein will be given next. The term consciousness refers herein to that group of phenomena which can be described in terms of conscious awareness. This term is meant to contrast with physical world, which comprises phenomena that are not described in terms of conscious awareness. (No ontological difference is meant by this distinction, but only a difference in description.) Some discussions of consciousness limit this term to certain facets of the above phenomena, such as the ability to hold mental images different from perception, or to have reflective thought and/or self consciousness [2]. However, no such restriction is meant herein. The terms mind and consciousness are used synonymously herein. The terms conscious awareness and conscious experience are used throughout to refer to the experiential aspect of consciousness. The adjective conscious may seem redundant to some. But in some usages the terms awareness and experience do not necessarily imply a conscious phenomenon, so this word is added for clarity. We are going to consider the possibility of independent action by consciousness (with two examples B free will and holistic processing), so this term will be explained next. By independent action is meant the ability to make a change in the physical world (more specifically, in the brain/nervous system), with this change not being random or completely determined by physical conditions. The terms independent function, independent processing, and mental influence are synonymous with independent action. Free will is a form of independent action in which alternative possibilities are present in conscious experience, and is the ability to select between these possibilities. In some usages this term is used solely for actions in which there is rational consideration of the choices involved, but no such restriction is implied herein. Holistic processing refers to the selection and activation of motor programs and/or other encoding in the brain in service of a goal which is held in conscious awareness. We should note that there is no term for consciousness in any presently known physical laws. Put another way, consciousness is not explained by presently known physics. The ontological relationship between consciousness and the physical world B whether consciousness emerges from the physical world, or whether dualism, panpsychism or some other ontological relationship obtains B is also unknown.