Science and Metaphysics A discussion on Consciousness and Genetics Editors Sangeetha Menon Anindya Sinha B. V Sreekantan N a t io n a l In s t it u t e o f A d v a n c e d St u d ies Bangalore, India Science and Metaphysics A discussion on Consciousness and Genetics Editors Sangeetha Menon Anindya Sinha B. V. Sreekantan f t National Institute of A dvanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus Bangalore 560 012, India © National Institute of Advanced Studies 2002 Published by National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus Bangalore 560 012 Cover Page Photo and Design by Sangeetha Menon P rice: Rs. 500/- US$ 30 ISBN 81-87663-27-8 Copies o f this report can be ordered from : The Controller National Institute of Advanced Studies Indian Institute of Science Campus Bangalore 560 012 Phone:080-3604351/3606594 E-mail: [email protected] This is Special Publication 10-02 Typeset & Printed b y : Verba Network Services 139, Cozy Apts., 8th Main, 12th Cross Malleswaram Bangalroc 560 003 Phone: 334 6692 Contents Preface vii Section 1 1. Myth, metaphysics and science 3 □ DP Chattopadhyayn 2. Physics, body-mind and the beyond 18 □ DP Chattopadhyaya 3. Challenges to philosophy and religion from development in life-sciences 51 a N S S Raman 4. Human consciousness in metaphysical and scientific perspectives 61 □ Bhuvan Chandel Section 2 5. Why a "neural correlate of consciousness" is not just a metaphor 81 □ Ilya Farber 6. Why consciousness cannot be deconstructed: Towards a positive theory of consciousness 98 □ R C P radlian 7. Genetics, first-person methodologies, and the "hard" and "easy" problems of consciousness 107 □ Jonathan Shear 8. Consciousness expanded 125 □ Wesley J Wildman 9. From experiences to consciousness 142 □ H N Shankar 10. Consciousness by any other name - Some outstanding problems in the life of the mind 148 □ Purusholtama Bilimoria 11. Beside the 'intentor' and the 'integrator'; Looking at two 'faces' of consciousness 164 □ Sangeetha Menon Section 3_____________________________________________________ 12. Consciousness and rebirth in classical Yoga 181 □ T K Anantharaman 13. Science, religion and spirituality 200 □ Swami Harshananda 14. Kashmiri Sufism, Islam and Hinduism 208 □ Sultan Shahin 15. Towards an integral epistemology of consciousness: A radical proposal based on Sri Aurobindo's work 225 □ Matthijs Cornelissen 16. A metaphysics of living systems, reductionism and emergentism in the Yoga Vasistha 245 □ Roddam Narasimha Contents v Section 4 17. The elusive self in the spatio-temporal net 259 □ Shobini L Rao 18. Neural plasticity and yoga 275 □ Shirley Telles 19. Neuro-endocrinology and consciousness 282 □ N Kochupillai 20. Genes and brain circuits 295 □ Obaid Siddiqi 21. Consciousness-elusive or can one grasp it? 302 □ B Ramamurthi Section 5___________________________________________________ 22. Genes and social behaviour 333 □ Vidyamnd Nanjundiah 23. The biology of laughter 349 □ Renee M Borges 24. What is it like to be a monkey? Attribution and intentionahty in wild bonnet macaques 356 □ Anindya Sinha 25. Becoming self-conscious : A psychological perspective 375 □ R L Kapur Section 6 26. Neuroscience, consciousness and emergence: A supervenience theory of mind 387 □ Philip Clayton T7. Transcendences in physics and their implications to consciousness 403 a B V Sreekantan 28. Speculations on a unified theory of matter and mind 415 □ Manoj K Samal Panel Discussions A. Metaphysical Implications of Modern Science Extracts and Summary 437 □ MG Narasimhan 1. Self-consciousness: The first-person singularity 447 □ N Kumar 2. Consciousness of passage of time in humans under prolonged social isolation 452 □ M fC Omndrashekaran 3. Metaphysical implications of modern science: How and why they arise 455 □ Srinivasa Rao B. Science and Religion Extracts and Summary 459 □ B V Subbarayappa 1. Science and religion 471 □ Paul K Wason List of Contributors 476 Editors' Note The notion that science and n:\etaphysics are two different themes which cannot have issues of common concern has changed with the new and different ways of looking at science, technology, philosophy and spiritual traditions. A dialogue between scientific and metaphysical traditions has become not only relevant but also imperative in the modern context, where we are often confronted with dilemmas in defining values whether they be scientific and technological developments and innovations, societal and communal health, or moral and spiritual explorations. Research on genetic signatures and genome mapping, neural and biochemical aspects of brain activities, psychological, philosophical and spiritual understanding of the human mind and consciousness has enlarged the picture and many interfaces for dialogue and multidisciplinary understanding have developed. At the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bangalore, we have a small group working in the area of cognitive science and consciousness. We organised the first national conference on consciousness in February 1999 on the theme "Scientific and philosophical studies on consciousness" and the proceedings of this meeting were published as a special publication by NIAS the same year (NIAS Special Publication 5-99,1999). This event made us aware of the considerable interest in this field in India. We felt that it would be appropriate to organise an international seminar that would provide an opportunity to review the new developments that are taking place in this field and also to present our own work in this area. We were considerably encouraged when the Sir John Templeton Foundation, USA, supported this v ii VIII idea and agreed to collaborate or\ such a meeting. We also received ready support from the Indian Council of Philosophical Research (ICPR) and Centre for Studies in Civilisations (CSC). On the one hand, a rich literature exists on the philosophical understanding of the complexity of consciousness, especially in the Indian wisdom traditions. On the other, scientists are excited about the emergence of new insights into many outstanding issues in the life sciences. In particular, molecular genetics has caused waves through the Human Genome Project and raised, rightly or wrongly, great hopes as well as great fears. Thanks to the new generation of non-invasive instrumental techniques including CAT-scan, fNMR, PET, LASER, electric and magnetic encephalography and microelectrodes, there have been far reaching developments in the neurosciences, and the spatiotemporal events in the brain and its accessories are being mapped out in detail. And scientists feel that we should not be far from answering the crucial question - are the electro-physico- chemical activities of the neurons and the synapses responsible for consciousness? Or is it the other way round - does consciousness drive these circuits? These proceedings of the international seminar on "Science and metaphysics: a discussion on consciousness and genetics" held at NIAS from 24-27 June 2001, consist of the individual presentations at various sessions and the panel discussions. The papers in this volume have been generally arranged according to their themes. Some papers remain unrepresented in this volume since we did not receive them at all. The editors of this volume have taken the liberty of making essential editorial changes in order to follow a uniform format in the listing of references and notes at the end of each paper. The diacritical marks for sanskrit words are denoted as per the styles followed by the authors. We thank the authors for sending in their papers on time and also extend our due apologies for any inadvertent errors or omissions in the final versions of these papers. Regarding the panel discussions, some of the panelists have sent us manuscripts of their contributions which we have fully reproduced in the volume. Not to lose out on the flavour of the contributions from others, extracts and summaries prepared by the panel coordinators, making use of the tape recordings, have been Editors' note ix included. The editors are grateful to the coordinators. Prof B V Subbarayappa and Dr M G Narasimhan for undertaking this arduous task. The seminar was jointly organised by the National Institute of Advanced Studies and the Sir John Templeton Foundation, USA. We extend our thanks to the Foundation for their support and interest. We also thank the Indian Council of Philosophical Research and Centre for Studies in Civilisations, New Delhi, for co- sponsoring this seminar. We thank Her Excellency Smt V S Ramadevi, the Governor of Karnataka, for her presidential address. Prof D P Chattopadhyaya for the inaugural address and Dr P N Tandon for delivering the valedictory address for the seminar. Our thanks are also due to Prof R Narasimha, Director, NIAS, for his encouragement, and Dr Raja Ramarma, NIAS, for many discussions. Our thanks are also for Ms V B Mariyammal and Ms K R Suchitra for helping us to organise the papers, and Ms K Shashikala, Indian Academy of Sciences, for copy-editing the text of this volume. Finally, we thank all our colleagues in NIAS for helping us to organise this conference and in the preparation of this volume. September 6,2002 Sangeetha Menon Anindya Sinha B V Sreekantan Section 1 1. Myth, metaphysics and science 3 □ D P Chattopadhyaya 2. Physics, body-mind and the beyond 18 □ D P Chattopadhyaya 3. Challenges to philosophy and religion from development in life-sciences 51 □ N S S Ranian 4. Human consciousness in metaphysical and scientific perspectives 61 □ Bhuvan Chandel Myth, metaphysics and science* D P CHATTOPADHYAYA Centre for Studies in Civilizations Calcutta and New Delhi, India 1. Remarks on philological routes to protoscience and science The meaning of our thought and of the ideas contained in it depends much upon the language in and through which we are expressing ourselves. The English word “myth” is traceable to the Greek word m uthos which stands for speech, word, tale, legend and their cognates. Its exact etymology is doubtful. But the word Purana has its definite meaning in Sanskrit and Sanskrit-rooted languages.