Emergence: A Bad Explanation for Consciousness
An excursus related to Consciousness:
Emergence
Some explanations proposed for human consciousness talk about “emergence”, however, this word (how it is used in theories of consciousness) is not explanatory. This talk of “emergence” is actually an admission of not knowing what is to be explained. It shows the speaker is assuming without evidence that it is possible for consciousness to be explained within the metaphysical worldview that the person holds.
This is a problem.
The idea of emergence comes from observations that new behaviors can develop unexpectedly in certain conditions. Careful study actually shows that behaviors do emerge naturally from a thing when the structure of its materials enable the function. Flight can emerge for an entity when it possesses a wing structured in the shape of an airfoil. (Baby birds can become flyers.) The existence of the required structure does not ensure the behavior emerges, but without the enabling structure the behavior will never exist. •••
Note also that more is required for emergence of flight: a means of sensing direction, effectors (muscles) to control the wing, cognitive systems to direct the physical control, and all the sub-systems to sustain these necessary things.
Consider an example artifact produced out of consciousness and cognition: a paperback book. The book can be described physically as a combination of processed wood fiber, glue and ink. However, these ingredients do not explain the book. The arrangement (especially of the ink on the pages) complies with natural laws, but no explanation using just natural laws can ever account for it. No book will ever emerge naturally from collections of paper and ink! An additional ingredient that is not characteristic of nature is also required: the intelligence of an author. Only when an author structures information in words to be printed in ink does the book emerge.
Humans are made up of specialized entities called cells that are each one more unlikely than this universe can account for. The physical and informational structure of cells enables them to function. Life emerges from the deeply integrated and functional structure of the cells. Cells and their existence obviously comply with the laws of nature, but those laws never explain them. Just like for books, nothing natural explains cells.
Humans are even more unlikely than “simple” cells because they are multicellular. Finely tuned and deeply integrated systems made out of cells are layered on what was already naturally impossible. These systems of systems are structured to function so that humans can live, work and play. Again, the structure of human beings complies with the laws of nature, but the laws cannot explain why humans exist.
Consciousness in humans
And (amazingly), humans also have consciousness. This consciousness would only be able to emerge physically from nature if there were structures that enabled the consciousness function. We do know that the structures of the human brain are necessary for consciousness (because some brain damage can be adverse to consciousness). We also know that other mammals with brains substantially like ours do not have an equivalent to human consciousness. Therefore (from this and other evidence), we know that the human brain is necessary but insufficient for human consciousness.
Despite intensive research nobody knows of a "something" in human brains that will uniquely supply us with consciousness. This consciousness "emergence" talk of people is really is just a statement of faith in their metaphysical worldview that nothing but the material world exists. It is not a statement from evidence, and it is not a statement that explains. It really is a tacit admission of explanatory ignorance because the natural world badly fails to answer the question of consciousness.
In fact, there are well-documented cases of humans with completely normal conscious function who are missing substantial parts of their brain, including parts usually associated with consciousness. There are also many well-documented cases of people that have had verified out-of-body conscious experiences, even while clinically and physically dead.
Consciousness cannot then be localized to certain physical structures, or even to anything physical. Therefore, the evidence points to an explanation for consciousness that cannot just be material.