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Originally Posted by austintorn@aol.com  I've been receiving the 'Journal of Consciousness Studies' for about ten years now, and Mikal is correct that there is no workable answer yet, just many theories, of which Bentov's is one. No one has even come close to solving Chalmer's well posed 'hard problem'.
Consciousness could merely be the brain's perception of itself or much more. No one knows yet.
It would then be a mistake, then, to assume any one theory and let it rule your life. Bentov left us prematurely over 25 years ago, but there is still no proof yet of his theory that we are thought receivers.
As for his holographic theory, my first post on ToeQuest proposed that the 3rd dimension could be a projection; however, this would mean that all is still real in 2-D and that it would represent nature's efficient workings, nothing more.
http://www.toequest.com/forum/the-hi...verything.html
Even though some of what I propose in my first post may even sound great (maybe to Drifter), I can't accept it myself or live by it for it is just a theory based on not very much.
One has to be careful not to let assumptions turn into rules to live by. Many human mammals guess at things and then claim a proof of a truth.
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Austie...I guess I should have discussed with you my present study into Chalmers...was not aware that you were familiar with Chalmers' presentation of "hard problems" with theories of consciousness formed almost into rigid, fixed dogmas.
His presentational work is exceptionally profound in argument and also the expansion and clarity of his arguments. Its fascinating how he puts forward the idea that the understanding of consciousness can be broken down into psychological and phenomenal environments, especially the phenomenal which of course as he describes would be the feelings and sensations we experience as being conscious or actually feeling ourselves living in our lives. Chalmers clearly reveals the complexities we face in attempting to fix a theory of Consciousness and aids us in moving away from setting anything in stone....
Mikal