Posted by alexandra_k on August 24, 2005, at 1:34:52
In reply to Re: and what this has to do with the brain... » alexandra_k, posted by Damos on August 23, 2005, at 23:48:22
> I was just reading that "new cells are only generated in two areas of the brain, the olfactory bulb, that governs the sense of smell, and the hippocamus, an area important to learning." Apparently all the others are as old as we are.
Hmm. Okay then...
So thats to do with the identity of neurons. So (roughly) neurons don't replace. (They sort of do - but it isn't true that we have completely new ones in 7 years). So the same neuron persists through time... And thats the biological level of analysis (the level of analysis where the ontology / things that exist are biological entities such as neurons).I guess we need to drop a little lower... Maybe chemistry, lets see whats there... Different transmitter substances, different chemicals. Now... Are the chemical componants of a single neuron numerically identicle over the lifetime of the neuron? And the answer to that is 'no'. The molecules that make up a single neuron replace over time... Now I'm just pulling numbers from the sky but it might be a reasonable guess to say that every molecule in a single neuron might be different oh, every 7 years ;-)
(I have no idea really...)
And then lets worry about what the molecules are made of. Say you have a molecule of oxygen. Do the atoms that make up that molecule replace over time? What about the sub-atomic particles that make up the atom?
I think... (Though my understanding of sub-atomic particles is very dodgey indeed) that at the level of sub-atomic particles you don't even have a notion of an object moving through space anymore. Rather... Its like your tv or computer screen. Lots of little charges-at-a-place. Its not that a dog runs across your tv screen. Its that a value of charge-at-a-place changes.
> Was also reading that depending on your beliefs you could belive in anywhere from 3 to 9 levels of consciousness. Those who believe in 7 see each chakra as corresponding to a different level (can't remember them offhand - bugger).
:-)
I guess it would depend on how you define / operationalise / measure what constitutes a 'different level of consciousness'.
> I'm still not convinced that the 'essence' of a person can be explained by there essential nature i.e. biological/chemical make-up.... What do you mean by 'essence of a person'?
poster:alexandra_k
thread:541758
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/write/20050807/msgs/545950.html