Episode 37: An Inside View of Consciousness with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

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In this episode, I had the honor of speaking with Dr Jill Bolte Taylor. Dr. Taylor is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist who experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain in 1996. It took eight years to completely recover all of her physical function and thinking ability. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey. We discussed left-brain, right-brain and what that means for our understanding of consciousness. Please enjoy this episode with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.

​Stroke of Insight

Signs of a Stroke (CDC.gov)

We discussed:

  1. You became a neuroanatomist for personal reasons — your brother? 
    1. Can you tell us what a neuroanatomist is, what you study?
  2. I’m sure most people listening know your story, but could I trouble you to give us a recap of your stroke experience?
  3. As a neuroanatomist, what do (and did) you know about the roles of the two hemispheres of the brain?
    1. What did you learn about them as a result of your personal experience?
    2. During your stroke and during recovery — and today — how did you experience your consciousness?
      1. “At one with the universe”? Loss of left brain, amazing being, life!
    3. You still live right-brain/left-brain, and friends can tell which one just walked in the room? Can you control this? [now you eat squash? Can’t see that happening for me]
  4. What is your opinion on consciousness and the brain? Is consciousness created by brain matter? Something else?
    1. How did your experience help form that opinion? 
    2. Ego? L/R?
    3. Consciousness is numerous programs running all at the same time?
      1. Consciousness in the cells of our body…expand on that?
    4. Two hemispheres, two consciousnesses?
      1. What happens when they recombine?
      2. [Right mind/brain: no time, now, creative, out-of-the-box]
      3. [Left mind/brain: sequences right brain experience in time; inner voice; self/ego; patterns & predictions; literal]
    5. You describe your body as a portal for the ‘energy’ that you are? That you’re just visiting?
      1. Is that “real” or a perception of your right brain?
      2. What do you mean, that we are ‘energy beings’?
  5. How has this experience helped you to help others?
    1. “I believe the more time we spend running the deep inner peace circuitry of our right brain, then the more peace we will project into the world, and ultimately the more peace we will have on the planet.” I assume we can learn that from you in the book? Any teasers you’d like to share?
      1. Whine time? Listen to left-brain chatter. Observe and dismiss it.
      2. Other mechanisms are in the book, things to divert away from the negative activities of the left brain.
    2. Not subject matter of this podcast, but your advice in loved-ones working with those who’d suffered similar strokes is great info, very warm and important
  6. What’s next from you? New book next year (April 2021) on the practical use of this information.
  7. Anything else you want to share?

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Episode 22: Consciousness and the Split Brain with Dr. Elizabeth Schechter

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In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Elizabeth Schechter, who is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology in the Department of Philosophy and in the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program at the Washington University in St. Louis. Her work centers on questions of psychological unity, with a focus on split-brain, which you can find in her book, Self-Consciousness and “Split” Brains: The Minds’ I.

We had a great conversation and covered consciousness, split-brains and the mind-body problem, and more. Please enjoy this episode with Dr. Elizabeth Schechter.

Questions:

  1. What is Psychological unity? Unity of Consciousness?
  2. Let’s get a baseline to work from here. How do you define consciousness? What IS consciousness? Mind v. Person.
    1. Duality? Physicalism? Etc.
    2. What is the relationship of a person to their mind/brain?
  3. Split Brains:
    1. Please give us a little background on what ‘split brain’ is.
    2. How does this play into your views on ‘unity’ of consciousness and psychology?
    3. Does this result in two, independent consciousnesses? (2-person claim)
    4. Perspectives versus Agents versus Thinkers? What are the differences there, and how do those differences play into understanding consciousness?
    5. In a split brain, parts of the brain are still integrated, or synchronized, right? Like vision? What else? [two separate human beings sitting next to each other would also be getting the same inputs, right?]
      1. How does that play into all of this?
    6. I’m curious about the implications of split brain and mind-brain duality. What, if any, observations have been made with split-brain patients that might shed light on that and the binding problem?
      1. Is the single ‘mind’ still bound to both sides of a split brain?
      2. Ego?
    7. Can (does) one side of the brain ask, “Something it is like to be the other side of my brain?”
      1. “I think, therefore I am” and other tests of individuality and consciousness? Have those been done, experimentally?
      2. The mirror test (animals) on a split brain subject?
    8. We can cut the connection (corpus callosum) between the two hemispheres. Can we introduce a third (artificial) ‘hemisphere’?
  4. What is a consciousness versus a person: conjoined twins, DID, split brain?
  5. What are you currently working on? What can we expect from you in the near future?
  6. In the field of consciousness (or other areas), what studies or potential breakthroughs excite you?
  7. Anything else you’d like to share?

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