#philosophy

Qualia - Everyone Sees The World Differently

_{[source](https://www.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/mg22830500.300-1_800.jpg)}

We experience the world and that is more than just processes in the brain, it is contents of consciousness. However, the subjective experience content of a mental state can neither be captured through measurements nor expressed through words. Everything feels different for everyone in a certain way when we experience something.

This is called Qualia. This can be well represented by the example of colors. An object is not objective. Blue color does not really exist in the world. The impression of color is actually created in the brain. And precisely because this is so, we could never be sure that your red is also my red.

Colors are created in the brain by different wavelengths of light. In childhood we learn which color has which name. We assign a certain name to a certain color experience.

But how should i know that your experience of red is the same as my experience of red? The answer is: not at all. That is impossible to know. We have no access to the experience of other people. We are actually completely alone in our perception of the world. The psyche of others is unattainable for us. And also the objective reality is unattainable for us. Something that is experienced as outside and independent of one is only as it is for one, because the brain makes it appear so. And one consideration we also have to draw attention to is that there may be no real look of things.

In order to have my sight, there must always be a looking one and he always sees with his subjective instruments, his senses.

In this picture you can only see black spots of different shapes and sizes, right?

But then, once you have seen this second picture here,

you suddenly recognize in the previous picture what it shows. The chaos of black spots suddenly becomes a meaningful structure. Only by the memory of the other picture.

And surely you also know the pictures in which two or more different things can be recognized. These pictures show you how subjective the things are. Everyone first sees something else, what his brain und subjetive view show him. Although the outer stimuli of course do not change, our perception and our experience is different. Our brain creates our reality and only to this reality we have access.

We experience things outside of us, although they arise in us in our brains, for everyone different. It is not easy to become aware of this.

The question that arises naturally is, how does this experience arise?

Is it due to the complex arrangement of matter, i.e. a materialistic explanation?

Or is consciousness perhaps the basis for everything at all?

I'd like to know what you think about.

_{[source](http://www.phenotopia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/qualia.jpg)} #

Comments · 16

@steem-ua(64)· 2705d
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@hartnell(55)· 2705d

We experience the world and that is more than just processes in the brain, it is contents of consciousness.

There is a direct correlation between brain processes and our first hand experience of the world. If your brain no process, you no experience. If your brain processes differently than it did a minute ago (say, with the help of some psychoactive substances or a really solid kick to the head), then your experience also changes.

Hell, you can verify this yourself without any drugs, swift kick, or special equipment. Just hold your breath until your brain is starved of oxygen enough that it can't process normally and stars will begin to appear.

There's no doubt that neural activity IS what we experience, that brain processes and our experience ARE one in the same.

However, the subjective experience content of a mental state can neither be captured through measurements nor expressed through words.

Scientists are now imaging what someone is experiencing from brain waves. I totally sh*t you not. So... yeah, it can be captured and shown using EEG.

*"When we see something, our brain creates a mental percept, which is essentially a mental impression of that thing. We were able to capture this percept using EEG to get a direct illustration of what's happening in the brain during this process," says Nemrodov. *

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180222145037.htm

Everything feels different for everyone in a certain way when we experience something.

Colors feel like I'm really, really, really HIGH.

... we could never be sure that your red is also my red.

I understand now! That whole bit that doctors do to diagnose colorblindness is just new age hoooey! How could I have not seen it before! (massive sarcasm)

Colors are created in the brain by different wavelengths of light.

Yes, that's right, light shines directly into our brain. I need to rip out that whole bit about sense perception from my psychology 101 book. It's garbage, apparently.

But how should i know that your experience of red is the same as my experience of red? The answer is: not at all. That is impossible to know

Repeating this doesn't it make it any more true or profound. I've already pointed out two ways.

The psyche of others is unattainable for us.

Not entirely, as I've pointed out. Here's another reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_identification

Or maybe you're trying to point out that the human species aren't capable of telepathic mind reading. Oh, wait.... scientists are even doing that now.

https://www.sciencealert.com/brain-to-brain-mind-connection-lets-three-people-share-thoughts

The chaos of black spots suddenly becomes a meaningful structure. Only by the memory of the other picture.

You could perhaps have asked "do you see a mustachoid man in this seemingly random bit of dots?" At any rate, this is a classic example of perception, not consciousness. It's the sort of thing you see in psychology 101.

And surely you also know the pictures in which two or more different things can be recognized. These pictures show you how subjective the things are.

This isn't at all what those pictures demonstrate. They demonstrate two competing interpretations of the same image. Again, this is from the perception chapter of any psychology 101 book. If you mean, "this shows that your perceptions are the result of a perceptual process and thus bullshit to begin with", then I agree with you. Alas your first sentence :

We experience the world and that is more than just processes in the brain, it is contents of consciousness.

But I digress...

Our brain creates our reality and only to this reality we have access.

A++

We experience things outside of us, although they arise in us in our brains,

Dammit! You had it right! Now you introduce a hell of a contradiction.

I'll go ahead and give the spoiler. We don't experience anything "outside of us." It all happens in the brain. We experience something waaay down the pipeline from sensory nerves, but what comes through those pipelines are unprocessed (or at least, in the case of the optical nerve, underprocessed) neural impulses.

It is not easy to become aware of this.

It's not easy to become aware that you're reading neural impulses now, and not words.

The question that arises naturally is, how does this experience arise?

That would be the hard problem. Well, not really, you forgot something. I'll add it...

The question that arises naturally is, how does this experience arise from neural activity?

I will now answer your concluding questions:

Is it due to the complex arrangement of matter, i.e. a materialistic explanation?

Yes.

Or is consciousness perhaps the basis for everything at all?

Yes.

The two are not mutually exclusive.
@chadrona(65)· 2705d
For everyone to see/experience the same thing would be really boring. Different views/experience makes life more interesting.
@arcange(79)· 2706d
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@bisks(27)· 2706d
Hi there. Great post. It reminded me of a hay export company I used to work for here in Western Australia. Every year the managers and others would gather to grade the quality of the years hay. It would last a few days and they would look at, feel, smell and sometimes taste the hay. One of the most important aspects of the hay was it's colour. The greener the better. The funny thing was that everyone had a different definition of what good green looked like. Lots of arguments as you can imagine. I believe they now rely much more on laboratory analysis results which would make for a far less entertaining grading experience...... ;-) Cheers. BB
@alnour(27)· 2706d
I used to think about that all the time is my green the same as yours but now I think as our brains created equally (mean the brain itself and nerves system) most likely it's the same Thanks for sharing
@cuervonegro(25)· 2706d
Got it! But now I'm wondering, if our brain creates our own reality, how could you know that the drawing above means the same for you as for the author?

You see a big old man beetwen the lines... What if the drawer just saw a little mature guy? Or a women? How can you explain that my red is not the same as you red, if we see the same things?

Sometimes the life has just no meaning, it is what it is.

Thanks for your time 🤞
@drakoscliff(56)· 2706d
@oendertuerk i was just scrolling down to get some good article and the main image of your article made me click over here and after reading it let me appreciate your thoughts and work dear.. Such a nice article. Its really true everyone has their own perspective and have different thought process as some one will see it 6 and the other will 9 so we should apreciate everyones thought and try to clear our thoughts so that we dont get confuse.. So in end big thanks for such a beautiful article keep.posting more=)
@shanghaipreneur(72)· 2706d
I think about the candle/face illusion a lot.

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@seven09(37)· 2707d
Nice write up

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@cryptocorn(26)· 2707d
Hi, your article was interesting, Anyway i'm new on steemit. Nice to meet you!
@evajulianag(31)· 2707d
please! more articles like this. <3
@kimwell1(33)· 2707d
I love things like this! Nice one bro. I hope there are more articles like this.. :)

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@abdurrahiim(34)· 2707d
Wow! Such a wonderful photography and very nice article . Really your photography is awesome. I like your post. Thank you for sharing with us.. Have a Great Day.💜👍👍👍
@hatu(77)· 2707d

We are actually completely alone in our perception of the world.

I'll agree with you that our subconscious creates our perspective of the world. Coincidentally, I just left a response about your Alita review, and I feel that graphic novel really pushes into the subject of subconscious guiding people's personality and perspective of the world.

Though, I didn't know there was a word for this. Happy to add this word to my vocab. :)
@steem-plus(74)· 2707d
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Comments · 16

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