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Vienna Conference on Consciousness
Part I
"What is the neural basis of
consciousness? Where is it in the brain?"
Contribution by
Michael L. Berger
(Center for Brain Research
Medical University Vienna)
Vienna Conference on Consciousness
Part I
"What is the neural basis of
consciousness? Where is it in the brain?"
Contribution by
Michael L. Berger
(Center for Brain Research
Medical University Vienna)
 biochemist & pharmacologist
Vienna Conference on Consciousness
Part I
"What is the neural basis of
consciousness? Where is it in the brain?"
Contribution by
Michael L. Berger
(Center for Brain Research
Medical University Vienna)
 biochemist & pharmacologist
 not involved in consciousness research
Vienna Conference on Consciousness
Part I
"What is the neural basis of
consciousness? Where is it in the brain?"
Contribution by
Michael L. Berger
(Center for Brain Research
Medical University Vienna)
 biochemist & pharmacologist
 not involved in consciousness research
 just thinking
(1) Consciousness as I understand
it is not just a private affair.
Left alone, without interaction with
the physical world or other human
beings, we would be unable to
differentiate reality from dreaming.
While awake, we always receive
feedback from the physical world,
and only this makes us sure that
we are confronted with reality.
Blumenthal (2005)
Kaspar Hausers Geschwister
(2) Consciousness results from
human communication.
Each human being is the result
of incessant interaction with
other human beings. Our
"selves" cannot be understood
without taking into account our
multiple relationships to others.
Even what we call "reality" is
principally the result of human
communication: the minimum
consensus we agree on, while
exchanging our experiences
with "the outer world".
“outer world“
“reality“
(3) Consciousness may be
seen as collective property.
Consciousness is always
shared between individuals;
understanding each other
means sharing of
consciousness. At the far end,
physical boundaries as
bodies may lose their
significance. Consciousness
may persist beyond the life of
individual bodies.
(4) Collective Consciousness is
the source of culture and
tradition.
Intense communication among
large communities for long
periods of time creates culture
and tradition. All our "selves" are
formed in this framework during
critical developmental periods.
Cultures adopt characteristic
properties, that may continue far
beyond several generations.
(5) All these phenomena have
a solid biological basis.
Thinking, communication,
remembering, affection,
socializing, adapting to habits,
tradition, society, conflict, all
these things are based on
solid biological grounds, with
various levels of complexity.
The involved neural processes
can be investigated with
scientific methods.
(6) Consciousness cannot be
investigated in isolation.
At least human consciousness
cannot, since it is related to more
variables than we reliably can
control. We can only study
certain aspects of conscious
behavior, always in relation to a
personal, social and cultural
background. It makes no sense
to look for something like a
"specific material carrier of
consciousness".
(7) Consciousness is a chaotic
phenomenon.
Since consciousness is based
on rather complex mechanisms
(ion channels, transmitter
release, trillions of plastic
neuronal connections,
interaction between thousands
of individuals, asynchronous
development of societies), it
cannot be predicted in any
reliable way (even less than the
weather). We need no quantum
mechanics to save the concept
of "free will".
(8) The experience of selfness and individuality.
Recent neurological studies have revealed that
even "the feeling of being someone" is the result
of neuronal activity. Under pathological
circumstances, this feeling may be lost, and we
may then be convinced to "be someone else" or
even to leave the boundaries of "our" body.
Blanke et al. (2004) Brain 127:243
(9) Consciousness helps
humans to survive.
The only reasonable
explanation, why such a
thing as "consciousness"
exists is, that it has
contributed to the survival
of mammals, primates, and
humans in particular. There
is nothing mysterious in it. It
is a biological instrument to
enable versatile and highly
adaptable communication
and tradition.