Theory of Brain-Sign: A Scientific Revision of the Consciousness Concept

Abstract

The history of the phenomenon termed consciousness goes back at least to the Greeks, though in modern times begins with Descartes. It attempts to identify the state in which a mental subject has awareness of the world in various modes: seeing, sensing, feeling; and also, with the ability to think. This mode facilitates consideration of the world, and the subject's place in it. It influences what actions could be taken. In this 'recent' history the role of God (specified or assumed) has been highly influential concerning the state's existence and operation. The problem is that a science of the physical universe demands an account which fits the phenomenon into the physical world without divine influence, as consciousness fails to do. In this article an entirely different approach is adopted, termed the theory of brain-sign. It identifies the role of the brain phenomenon as purely biological, facilitating organisms' ability to communicate with others by neural signing. Signs are biologically ubiquitous and intrinsically physical. The article is in two parts. The first briefly explores the history's influence till the modern day, demonstrating the incongruence of the consciousness supposition. In the decades post Behaviourism — which was a former response to the problem of consciousness — the assumption of mind/consciousness has resumed, leading to the current chaotic status. The second part, therefore, outlines the theory of brain-sign by contrasting it with recent accounts that employ the 'consciousness' concept but which could be recast if brain-sign function had been identified and employed. Once consciousness is discarded, the biological role of brain-sign is obvious, and developments of neural science may identify the physical locality of brain-sign function. That will eliminate the supposition that an Absolute reality exists or causality is entailed, which are the claims of consciousness. Indeed, brain-sign theory changes the nature of being a human being, and other creatures, mirroring the impact of Evolution.