MIT Center for Collective Intelligence. The Roots of Consciousness: Theory, The Biological Perspective. The Biological Perspective In the Introduction, I discussed the evolution of organized matter from the photon through particles, atoms and molecules to living cells which begin to differentiate in structure and function forming a wide variety of tissues and organs that play a specialized function in the human body.
It is reasonable to assume all these levels of organization including the whole human being play a role in shaping consciousness. Particularly important are the nervous system, comprising brain and spinal cord, and the endocrine system, comprising a number of ductless glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream. Biological Consciousness and the Experience of the Transcendent. 2.
Biological Consciousness and the Experience of the Transcendent: William James and American Functional Psychology Eugene Taylor Harvard University Medical School Reproduced by permission of the Author. All trends pertaining to the mind/body problem in the late 19th century, from both popular and high culture, seem now in retrospect to culminate in the functionalism of the American philosopher-psychologist, William James (1842-1910). Consciousness of subjective time in the brain — PNAS.
Author Affiliations Contributed by Endel Tulving, November 9, 2010 (sent for review June 13, 2010) Abstract “Mental time travel” refers to conscious experience of remembering the personal past and imagining the personal future.
