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Like it or not, you are your neurology. You are your synaptic structure, you are your neurotransmitters. This trick of conscious self awareness doesn't trump n

Like it or not, you are your neurology. You are your synaptic structure, you are your neurotransmitters. This trick of conscious self awareness doesn't trump neurology. You can't meditate out of physical systems malfunctioning any more than you can meditate away a broken leg. These drugs are like casts for broken bones. Just because you can't see the broken system doesn't make it less physical. Get a cast. Heal the anatomy. Try and walk again.

swayvil 4y ago
>Like it or not, you are your neurology. You are your synaptic structure, you are your neurotransmitters. Yeah, but look who's saying that. Your neurology etc. By that logic the cast of Seinfeld is a tribe of gnomes living inside your tv.
- sirsinsalot 4y ago
  Not really, I'm just saying you are your neurons and their configuration and function. If not, what are "you"? There's nothing else but the state and mechanics in your brain and their interface with the world. I appreciate for some, this fact is scary. For some, it undermines odd outdated ideas of soul or spirit. That doesn't make it less true. Sometimes this complex, organic, non-deterministic, environment coupled, feedback driven system ... gets out of balance and needs help.
  - swayvil 4y ago
    You are merely reiterating your argument, with an accusation of fear and religion on top.
    - sirsinsalot 4y ago
      Your comments were not a rebuttal of mine, just a vague "doesn't sound right to me". So ..
  - amanaplanacanal 4y ago
    > If not, what are "you"? There's nothing else but the state and mechanics in your brain and their interface with the world. I would say that’s only probably correct. Plenty of people would say you are completely wrong. I’m undecided, personally.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- chlorion 4y ago
  Yeah neurology definitely doesn't drive your entire experience of reality. That's why you can remove the brain from the body and the person still lives and functions as if nothing happened.
dvt 4y ago
> These drugs are like casts for broken bones. Just because you can't see the broken system doesn't make it less physical. They're absolutely not like this. In fact, doctors themselves will tell you we aren't 100% sure how or why they work, and so will a Psychology 101 class. That's why medication is generally given in conjunction with counseling/therapy.
- sirsinsalot 4y ago
  You can be unsure of exactly how they work, but be able to verify that they do (unsure in a scientific sense can still be quite sure. MRI imaging to verify is hard.). The cast analogy of a "supporting treatment" stands. I mean, the fact the comments here exist on a forum primarily concerned with engineering is astounding. Medication is given with counselling and therapy because that too can enact change on neurochemisty through self direction when the system isn't in functional collapse. For a broken leg you might have metal pins and physio. For a broken leg we wouldn't be having these odd discussions, and the brain is fair more complex. Maybe everyone should stop taking psych 101 and counting themselves experts in neurochemistry and neuropsychiatry then dishing out poor advice. Admittedly the US health care system is broken by perverse incentives and so on, but let's not turn that into an attack on the science and efficacy of the drugs themselves for many people.
chlorion 4y ago
It freaks me out that most people do not realize this, and instead think that consciousness is some sort of magical or metaphysical process. It's really dangerous because it implies that psychological illnesses are not "real" like other non-psychological illnesses are. This causes people to believe weird things, like that you can just will yourself out of a certain state, or that these illnesses are caused by laziness, and in some cases think they are just totally fake. Like you said, all of your psychology, your consciousness, emotions, sensations, etc are physical reactions happening inside of your brain and nervous system, there is no nonphysical aspect to any of it. All of it is just a bunch of "circuits" inside of your brain tissues and various nerves in the body. This isn't even a debatable issue unless you believe in some sort of magic nonphysical thing that exists outside of the 3d space we reside in. Nonphysical things by definition do not make any sense. This applies to more than just consciousness too, the same basic idea applies to "spirits" for example. When you cut someone open you don't find a spirit inside of them, it's just a bunch of physical organs and tissues.

swayvil 4y ago

>Like it or not, you are your neurology. You are your synaptic structure, you are your neurotransmitters. Yeah, but look who's saying that. Your neurology etc. By that logic the cast of Seinfeld is a tribe of gnomes living inside your tv.

sirsinsalot 4y ago
Not really, I'm just saying you are your neurons and their configuration and function. If not, what are "you"? There's nothing else but the state and mechanics in your brain and their interface with the world. I appreciate for some, this fact is scary. For some, it undermines odd outdated ideas of soul or spirit. That doesn't make it less true. Sometimes this complex, organic, non-deterministic, environment coupled, feedback driven system ... gets out of balance and needs help.
- swayvil 4y ago
  You are merely reiterating your argument, with an accusation of fear and religion on top.
  - sirsinsalot 4y ago
    Your comments were not a rebuttal of mine, just a vague "doesn't sound right to me". So ..
- amanaplanacanal 4y ago
  > If not, what are "you"? There's nothing else but the state and mechanics in your brain and their interface with the world. I would say that’s only probably correct. Plenty of people would say you are completely wrong. I’m undecided, personally.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
chlorion 4y ago
Yeah neurology definitely doesn't drive your entire experience of reality. That's why you can remove the brain from the body and the person still lives and functions as if nothing happened.

dvt 4y ago

> These drugs are like casts for broken bones. Just because you can't see the broken system doesn't make it less physical. They're absolutely not like this. In fact, doctors themselves will tell you we aren't 100% sure how or why they work, and so will a Psychology 101 class. That's why medication is generally given in conjunction with counseling/therapy.

sirsinsalot 4y ago
You can be unsure of exactly how they work, but be able to verify that they do (unsure in a scientific sense can still be quite sure. MRI imaging to verify is hard.). The cast analogy of a "supporting treatment" stands. I mean, the fact the comments here exist on a forum primarily concerned with engineering is astounding. Medication is given with counselling and therapy because that too can enact change on neurochemisty through self direction when the system isn't in functional collapse. For a broken leg you might have metal pins and physio. For a broken leg we wouldn't be having these odd discussions, and the brain is fair more complex. Maybe everyone should stop taking psych 101 and counting themselves experts in neurochemistry and neuropsychiatry then dishing out poor advice. Admittedly the US health care system is broken by perverse incentives and so on, but let's not turn that into an attack on the science and efficacy of the drugs themselves for many people.

chlorion 4y ago

It freaks me out that most people do not realize this, and instead think that consciousness is some sort of magical or metaphysical process. It's really dangerous because it implies that psychological illnesses are not "real" like other non-psychological illnesses are. This causes people to believe weird things, like that you can just will yourself out of a certain state, or that these illnesses are caused by laziness, and in some cases think they are just totally fake. Like you said, all of your psychology, your consciousness, emotions, sensations, etc are physical reactions happening inside of your brain and nervous system, there is no nonphysical aspect to any of it. All of it is just a bunch of "circuits" inside of your brain tissues and various nerves in the body. This isn't even a debatable issue unless you believe in some sort of magic nonphysical thing that exists outside of the 3d space we reside in. Nonphysical things by definition do not make any sense. This applies to more than just consciousness too, the same basic idea applies to "spirits" for example. When you cut someone open you don't find a spirit inside of them, it's just a bunch of physical organs and tissues.