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Summary of Transcript:
The video features an interview with author Annika Harris, who specializes in making complex topics in neuroscience and physics accessible to the general public. The interview’s main focus is on consciousness and its mysterious nature. Harris explains that consciousness is often conflated with high-level cognition, but in its most basic sense, it refers to experience – the fact that there is something that it’s like to be a certain organism. The interview briefly touches on panpsychism – the notion that consciousness is a fundamental aspect of the universe, akin to gravity -. Still, Harris notes that it is a controversial and unproven theory. She emphasizes the awe-inspiring mystery of consciousness and encourages people to explore and be open to unconventional ideas.
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Summary of Description:
Author Annaka Harris discusses consciousness and the self with host Tom Bilyeu on Impact Theory. Harris challenges the idea that consciousness is separate from the body and can be controlled using a conscious will. She discusses the basic level of consciousness and how the brain binds disparate signals. Harris also explains how decisions are made before awareness of them and the possibility that consciousness is a field like gravity. The episode delves into experiments in physics and neuroscience, questioning some of our deepest intuitions.
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Exploring the Fundamental Mystery of Consciousness with Annaka Harris
Consciousness is one of the most mysterious and divisive subjects in the scientific and philosophical domains. The general belief is that consciousness comprises individual awareness and is related to the human brain and body. However, best-selling author Annaka Harris challenges this notion and seeks to unearth the underlying nature of consciousness in all living beings. In the intriguing episode of Impact Theory hosted by Tom Bilyeu, Annaka unfolds her research and insights challenging our most cherished beliefs and intuitions about the self and consciousness.
Defining Consciousness and False Self-beliefs
Annaka starts the conversation by defining consciousness, stating that it is a subjective experience of both the inner and outer world. She uses a compelling analogy where consciousness is like a stage and the play; it involves the material and mental elements to create a sensory experience. She then debunks the notion of self-beliefs and the conscious will, which most people think they possess. She explains that most decisions are made at the unconscious level with little control by the conscious mind. It is not just about awareness but the relationship between the two.
Challenging Our Intuition and Comfortable Beliefs
Observation and experimentation are at the core of the scientific process, and Annaka highlights the importance of always challenging our most cherished and comfortable beliefs. She points out that false assumptions and intuitions are easy to form and hard to abandon, making people comfortable even when they can be damaging in the long run. Humans naturally tend to cling to their intuition rather than employ logical analysis. Unpacking whether plants are conscious, Annaka provides credible evidence from research suggesting that trees take care of their own and defend their kin, posing whether plants may have a level of consciousness.
Physics and Neuroscience: Is Consciousness Like Gravity?
The ideas that composition might hold the key to consciousness are gradually becoming outdated, with physics and neuroscience increasingly exploring possibilities that consciousness might come in a field like gravity. Annaka explains that experiments with double-slit light reveal that conscious observation can influence past events, which can shake even the hardest materialists. She also suggests that conscious experience might not necessarily be related to the human brain or body.
The Power of Challenging Intuitions
Annaka’s insights on consciousness will raise eyebrows and, more importantly, encourage listeners to delve further into the topic by reading her book, Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. Her work is an excellent example of the scientific process, encouraging everyone to challenge their cherished beliefs and intuitions and providing a compelling argument to explore the fundamental mystery of consciousness. Join the Discord community, and you can gain access to Tom Bilyeu, Annaka Harris, and the team, along with exclusive content, offers, and unlimited opportunities to become legendary.
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Source Description
Join our Discord community so you don’t miss out on all the amazing things we are working on – http://impacttheory.com/discord. Here you will get direct access to Tom and the team PLUS exclusive content, offers, and so much more. Jump on in and get started on becoming legendary!
What if everything you think you know about yourself is wrong? Most people believe they have a self separate from their body and brain and can control their experience with conscious will. But what if that isn’t true? Best-selling author Annaka Harris is devoted to challenging our deepest intuitions about the nature of consciousness and the self. In this episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, she discusses experiments on the cutting edge of physics and neuroscience and explains why those experiments matter. The result is a fascinating conversation that will leave you questioning some of your most cherished, comforting intuitions.
SHOW NOTES:
Consciousness is exactly as mysterious as it seems to be [2:29]
Annaka defines what consciousness is [4:54]
Tom and Annaka discuss the story of Phineas Gage [6:31]
Annaka talks about the difference between consciousness and high-level thought [9:14]
There is a basic level of consciousness that doesn’t involve awareness of consciousness [11:35]
Challenging intuitions is a basic element of the scientific method [14:58]
Is there outer evidence of conscious experience? Is consciousness doing anything? [18:46]
Upending comfortable intuitions is eventually a freeing experience [20:57]
Annaka explains how the brain binds disparate signals to make them seem congruent [22:23]
Annaka and Tom discuss how much unconscious brain functioning we take for granted [27:09]
Annaka describes the false sense of self and conscious will [29:53]
We make decisions before we are aware of them [33:41]
Annaka discusses the question of whether or to what extent plants are conscious [35:30]
Trees take care of their kin and defend their kin [40:48]
What if consciousness is a field like gravity? [43:39]
Annaka describes the double-slit light experiment [46:13]
https://drive.google.com/open?id=11YDGl3xTv1_yHcaFRf68M6zhbD7AxLpj
Measuring an event can change the past [51:41]
Annaka discusses problems with the view that consciousness emerges from life [54:25]
Annaka shares the impact she wants to have on the world [1:03:06]
QUOTES:
“Something is jarring about learning that the things that feel most true to you about reality are possibly not structured that way.” [21:29]
“We feel that consciousness is behind our willed actions when there is a lot of neuroscience to suggest that it’s the reverse. It’s at the end. All this processing happens, a decision gets made, and we’re the last to know.” [31:54]
“We have no evidence that consciousness is due to complexity.” [1:00:24]
FOLLOW:
WEBSITE: https://annakaharris.com
INSTAGRAM: https://bit.ly/392CIl1
FACEBOOK: https://bit.ly/2GTsk36
TWITTER: https://bit.ly/2RUoY63
BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
“Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind,” https://amzn.to/2u7OR9H [2:19]
IMPACT THEORY MERCHANDISE: Check out Impact Theory’s Merch Shop: http://bit.ly/ImpactTheoryShop
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