Consciousness Embodied In A Biological Apparatus

We don’t experience anything external directly; things are experienced through the senses and into our mind, and phenomena is labelled. These labels become our thoughts which we use to navigate life.

But what if the input data is wrong or misleading, and overlays perception? Words are never reality; our reality is the essence of mind – pure consciousness before thoughts arise.

These thoughts are indirect realism, which is the idea that our brains and mind don’t touch reality directly, but instead construct an internal simulation based on filtered sensory input. When data is corrupted, flawed or manipulated, it thus triggers a chain reaction. Sensory illusions, cognitive bias, psychological hallucinations … garbage in, garbage out. We’re bound by illusory consequences which we don’t notice as we’re entertained by whatever appears.

If our internal labelling data is wrong, our biological survival system triggers anxiety, fear and gut feelings that alert us that our map of reality is disconnected from actual reality.

We then either panic, or we gain insight.