Where Does Consciousness Come From? 8 Controversial Views by Socrates, Buddhists and Scientists Chasing Gods

    • Philosophie

Is consciousness produced by the brain? If not, where does it come from?

Socrates and Plato, the ancient Greek philosophers from which western ideas have flourished, believed that the soul was eternal. They also believed in the reincarnation of the soul.

Here, we’ll review the 5 arguments Socrates makes on his deathbed to support this view. Then, we’ll explore the debate he had with one of his interlocutors; a debate which still persists today, 2000 years later:

Does the brain produce the soul (consciousness), or does soul (consciousness) come from somewhere else?

Where Does Consciousness Come From?

Ancient Greek Beliefs

Let’s go back to around 500 BCE, Ancient Greece. The city-state of Athens has adopted a polytheistic religion, which means that people feared, worshiped and made offerings to many different gods; Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, etc.

The Ancient Greeks also believed that upon death, the soul would leave the body and travel to the underworld, remaining there forever, as mere shadows guarded by Hades, the god of the underworld.

But there were also obscure groups of people who believed differently in regards to the soul. They believed in ‘metempsychosis‘ or the ‘transmigration of the soul’. In this view, the soul will depart the body at death and re-enter another body, in a perpetual cycle. These small pockets of people were the Pythagoreans (those who followed the teachings of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras) and the Orphics (the adherents of a religion based on the mythical poet, Orpheus). These groups and beliefs existed in the minority.

 

Hindu Origins?

How these groups obtained their views is not exactly known, but I can’t help but think of India, which is geographically not so far away.

See the philosophical concept of transmigration, also known as reincarnation, already existed in India 500 years earlier. India is where Hinduism was born, and from it, Buddhism and Jainism, which also view the soul as something that transfers from body to body (reincarnation).

The general belief in these Indian religions, which are still predominant all over Asia (I say “general” because details in them will vary), is that we are all bound to an endless cycle of birth and rebirth. What you do in this life, will dictate your next. By doing good, you gain good Karma (think of is as points) and you will be reborn in better conditions, be it in the form of a body or in a heavenly realm. If your actions and intentions are bad, you gain bad karma, which will lead to worse conditions in the next life. Again, in the bodily or spiritual form.

And this goes on …. forever.

But there is a way to liberate oneself from this never-ending cycle, which is also referred to as Nirvana or Moksha, and it usually consists of deep self-realization as well as living an ascetic life, letting go of all attachments.

Now, Socrates never spoke about exiting the cycle, but he did believe that living an ascetic life of un-attachment, which he calls “being a TRUE philosopher”, will get you the best outcome after death.

 

Bronze figure of Kashmiri in Meditation by Malvina Hoffman. Credit: Wellcome Library, London

 



 

 

Is consciousness produced by the brain? If not, where does it come from?

Socrates and Plato, the ancient Greek philosophers from which western ideas have flourished, believed that the soul was eternal. They also believed in the reincarnation of the soul.

Here, we’ll review the 5 arguments Socrates makes on his deathbed to support this view. Then, we’ll explore the debate he had with one of his interlocutors; a debate which still persists today, 2000 years later:

Does the brain produce the soul (consciousness), or does soul (consciousness) come from somewhere else?

Where Does Consciousness Come From?

Ancient Greek Beliefs

Let’s go back to around 500 BCE, Ancient Greece. The city-state of Athens has adopted a polytheistic religion, which means that people feared, worshiped and made offerings to many different gods; Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, etc.

The Ancient Greeks also believed that upon death, the soul would leave the body and travel to the underworld, remaining there forever, as mere shadows guarded by Hades, the god of the underworld.

But there were also obscure groups of people who believed differently in regards to the soul. They believed in ‘metempsychosis‘ or the ‘transmigration of the soul’. In this view, the soul will depart the body at death and re-enter another body, in a perpetual cycle. These small pockets of people were the Pythagoreans (those who followed the teachings of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras) and the Orphics (the adherents of a religion based on the mythical poet, Orpheus). These groups and beliefs existed in the minority.

 

Hindu Origins?

How these groups obtained their views is not exactly known, but I can’t help but think of India, which is geographically not so far away.

See the philosophical concept of transmigration, also known as reincarnation, already existed in India 500 years earlier. India is where Hinduism was born, and from it, Buddhism and Jainism, which also view the soul as something that transfers from body to body (reincarnation).

The general belief in these Indian religions, which are still predominant all over Asia (I say “general” because details in them will vary), is that we are all bound to an endless cycle of birth and rebirth. What you do in this life, will dictate your next. By doing good, you gain good Karma (think of is as points) and you will be reborn in better conditions, be it in the form of a body or in a heavenly realm. If your actions and intentions are bad, you gain bad karma, which will lead to worse conditions in the next life. Again, in the bodily or spiritual form.

And this goes on …. forever.

But there is a way to liberate oneself from this never-ending cycle, which is also referred to as Nirvana or Moksha, and it usually consists of deep self-realization as well as living an ascetic life, letting go of all attachments.

Now, Socrates never spoke about exiting the cycle, but he did believe that living an ascetic life of un-attachment, which he calls “being a TRUE philosopher”, will get you the best outcome after death.

 

Bronze figure of Kashmiri in Meditation by Malvina Hoffman. Credit: Wellcome Library, London