Spatiotemporal Model of Consciousness II: Spatiotemporal Alignment—Neuro-ecological Continuum and World–Brain Relation

G. Northoff
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Abstract

Consciousness is neuronal as it is based on the brain and its neural activity. This is what neuroscience tell us citing strong empirical evidence. At the same time, consciousness is ecological in that it extends beyond the brain to body and world – this is what philosophers tell us when they invoke concepts like embodiment, embeddedness, extendedness, and enactment. Is consciousness neuronal or ecological? This amounts to what I describe as “argument of inclusion”: do we need to include body and world in our account of the brain and how is that very same inclusion important for consciousness? I argue that the “spatiotemporal model” of consciousness can well address the “argument of inclusion” by linking and integrating both neuronal and ecological characterizations of consciousness. I demonstrate various data showing how the brain’s spontaneous activity couples and aligns itself to the spatiotemporal structure in the ongoing activities of both body and world. That amounts to a specific spatiotemporal mechanism of the brain that I describe as ‘spatiotemporal alignment’. Conceptually, such ‘spatiotemporal alignment’ corresponds to “body-brain relation” and “world-brain relation”, as I say. World-brain relation and body-brain relation allow for spatiotemporal relation and integration between the different spatiotemporal scales or ranges of world, body, and brain with all three being spatiotemporally aligned and nested within each other. Based on various empirical findings, I argue that such spatiotemporal nestedness between world, body, and brain establishes a “neuro-ecological continuum” and world-brain relation. Both neuro-ecological continuum and world-brain relation are here understood in an empirical sense and can be regarded as necessary condition of possible consciousness, i.e., neural predisposition of consciousness (NPC) (as distinguished from the neural correlates of consciousness/NCC). In sum, the spatiotemporal model determines consciousness by “neuro-ecological continuum” and world-brain relation (with body-brain relation being a subset). Taken in such sense, the spatiotemporal model can well address the “argument of inclusion”. We need to include body and world in our account of the brain in terms of “neuro-ecological continuum” and world-brain relation since otherwise, due to their role as NPC, consciousness remains impossible.
意识的时空模型II:时空对齐-神经-生态连续体与世界-脑关系
意识是神经元的,因为它基于大脑及其神经活动。这是神经科学援引强有力的经验证据告诉我们的。与此同时,意识是生态的,因为它从大脑延伸到身体和世界——这是哲学家们在引用具体化、嵌入性、延伸性和制定等概念时告诉我们的。意识是神经元的还是生态的?这就相当于我所说的“包容的论证”:我们是否需要在我们对大脑的描述中包括身体和世界,以及同样的包容对意识有多重要?我认为意识的“时空模型”可以很好地通过连接和整合意识的神经元特征和生态特征来解决“包容性的争论”。我展示了各种数据,展示了大脑的自发活动是如何在身体和世界的持续活动中与时空结构相结合和对齐的。这相当于一种特定的大脑时空机制,我称之为“时空对齐”。从概念上讲,这种“时空一致性”相当于我所说的“身体-大脑关系”和“世界-大脑关系”。世界-脑关系和身体-脑关系允许世界、身体和大脑的不同时空尺度或范围之间的时空关系和整合,三者在时空上相互排列和嵌套。基于各种实证研究结果,我认为世界、身体和大脑之间的这种时空嵌套性建立了一个“神经生态连续体”和世界-大脑关系。神经生态连续体和世界-脑关系在这里都是从经验意义上理解的,并且可以被视为可能意识的必要条件,即意识的神经倾向(NPC)(区别于意识/NCC的神经相关)。总而言之,时空模型通过“神经-生态连续体”和世界-脑关系(体-脑关系是其中的一个子集)来决定意识。从这个意义上讲,时空模型可以很好地解决“包容性的争论”。我们需要根据“神经-生态连续体”和世界-大脑关系将身体和世界包含在我们对大脑的描述中,否则,由于它们作为NPC的角色,意识仍然是不可能的。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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