Random Chaos and Free Choice

In a recent essay, George Ellis argued that science does not either prove or disprove free will and so Ellis leaves open the issue of free choice. However, Ellis does not define free choice nor does he measure free choice and so really, Ellis has little to really say about free choice. Likewise science has no measurement of free choice and without a measurement, science also really has little to say about free choice. In other words, despite the overwhelming consensus in science that the precursors of free choice are determinate illusions that result from the Big Bang, Ellis argues that science cannot measure or prove free choice precursors are illusions and so science must leave open the possibility of free choice outcomes. 

Science hates this kind of free choice equivocation because it leaves open the possibility of a religious transcendent and mystical free choice. Although Religion just like Science assumes that we live in a mostly causal universe, religion further believes that there are also some transcendent precursors that we can never know about for some outcomes like free choice. Ellis argues against any transcendence and instead argues that it is biological complexity that precludes knowing about all precursors to free choice outcomes. In fact, Ellis does not even mention the religious narrative that attributes free choice precursors to transcendent mysteries. Ellis does conclude his essay by stating his belief that without free choice, we would not have moral responsibility and so he is glad that we do have free choice and therefore moral responsibility.

Both Ellis and Science presume that we live in a causal universe where every outcome has a set of precursors. A precursor for each outcome then means that there are no transcendent precursors from outside of the universe. Naturally, then, since every outcome has precursors, Science argues that we can in principle know the precursors of any free choice outcome as actually determinate and not free. Ellis argues that it is biological complexity and molecular uncertainty that preclude any knowledge of free choice precursors. Many others in science believe likewise that the complexity of random chaos similarly precludes knowing about all precursors to free choice outcomes.

Even though we do live in a causal universe where there are precursors for every outcome, that simple fact does not then mean that we can know every precursor. In fact, there are many unknowable precursors for outcomes that we readily admit to. Why are we here? Why are we here right here right now and not at some other outcome? Why is it us who are right here right now and not someone else? Why is the universe that way that it is? Why is matter the way that it is? Why does action change matter the way that it does?

These are all perfectly reasonable questions that have no answers and are part of what we cannot ever know about the universe. Science calls such questions meaningless since they do not have measurable precursors, but religion calls such questions transcendent because their answers lie outside of the causal universe. One argument about free choice is that a machine does not have free choice and even a really complex machine only does what its creator programmed it to do. The argument continues that a creator is also just a machine that does what their creator programmed them to do, and so on until the transcendent master simulator of creation. This means that we are all in a determinate simulation of the Big Bang and have no free choice at all.

Science does accept that it is impossible to predict the outcome of free choice from its precursors even though Science cannot either define or measure free choice. However, then Science goes on to list all the of reasons that make the precursors of free choice unknowable. Science then concludes that even though Science cannot predict free choice outcomes that does not mean free choice exists, just that we have the illusion that free choice exists in a determinate universe. 

However, there is no measurement that proves free choice outcomes are illusions, the free choice outcome does not depend on whether you believe in free choice or you believe in the illusion of free choice. Therefore it is simply impossible for science to address free choice without a measurement or even a definition of free choice.

Ellis rightly decries the moral relativism that results from a lack of free choice. Thus, he is relieved that there is free choice even though he does not define or measure free choice.

FramesOfConsciousness

Frames of Consciousness by Joel Frohlich is a very well written and well referenced Aeon essay on the current state of defining and even quantitatively measuring consciousness in neuroscience. 

It is very pleasing to have such an interesting topic covered in such detail and I really appreciate his essay. It is difficult to both define and then to measure the thing you have defined since it is a lot like making up a new word and then using other words to define your new word that you just made up. After all, why make up a new word when other words already exist that communicate the thing just fine.

Consciousness is, after all, not a new word that Frohlich just made up and so there are as many definitions of consciousness as there are people writing essays about consciousness...and as many disagreements as well. Consciousness includes sensation, conscious thought, unconscious thought, subconscious thought, autonomic action, long-term memory, short-term memory, emotion, sleep and, of course, free choice action. We sense, reason consciously or respond subconsciously, and then excite or inhibit action. In the end, Frohlich does not really define consciousness but simply shows ways to quantitatively measure small slices of consciousness. 

"Consciousness is a mystery. A multitude of scientific theories attempt to explain why our brains experience the world, rather than simply receiving input and producing output without feeling."

Notice that feeling is a part of consciousness as is experience and receiving input (sensation) and producing output (free choice action) are all also parts of consciousness, with or without feeling. So Frohlich's phrase simply means that consciousness is the involuntary act of being conscious, an identity that is certainly true but hardly useful. Frohlich goes on to argue that quantum superposition and quantum phase decay have nothing to do with consciousness. Of course, quantum superposition and quantum phase decay is how all of the world works and so quantum is certainly how consciousness works as well, even though Frohlich does not like Hameroff at all.

Instead, Frohlich likes Tonini's two words for consciousness: differentiation and integration. Okay. We see two things and then can tell them apart. Great. Then we remember that new thing in terms of all of the similar things that we have also remembered. Once again, this sounds a little bit like defining consciousness as being conscious. Fortunately, Frohlich then moves on to measurements thank goodness instead of more definitions.

Frohlich likes Massimini's zap and zip measurement, which is a type of pulse-echo measurement for the brain. Given a brain pulse, you measure its echo and there are many pulses with both sound and light that also work. An operator delivers an electromagnetic pulse to a brain region and then measures how quickly the EEG modes return to the normal conscious pattern before the pulse. Of course, any stimulus like a bright light, a loud sound, a strong odor, or a pin prick results in the same EEG pulse echo. Oddly, these are the same actions that medicine now uses to measure conscious behavior, even for unconscious or comatose people.

Finally, Frohlich wraps up with his favorite Angelman syndrome of conscious behavior. These very happy people have grown up with the simple EEG modes of children and so never seem to have grow up and their characteristic EEG delta modes are without alpha or beta overtones of higher consciousness. However, since science has no theory that explains what EEG modes represent, once again, Angelman syndrome people are conscious because they are conscious. However, without alpha and beta activity, they are not conscious like other people are conscious, but really, children are not conscious like adults are conscious and so this does not seem to mean much.

Oh well, it was still fun to read...my theory is somewhat different...The EEG Mind