The easy part of the Hard Problem A resonance theory of consciousness

" And if there is some degree of consciousness even in atoms and molecules, as panpsychism suggests (albeit of a very rudimentary nature, an important point to remember), how do these micro-conscious entities combine into the higher-level and obvious consciousness we witness in entities like humans and other mammals? " {Credits 1}

"... We suggest, based on the growing body of data described sketchily above, that a shared resonance frequency is the key to resolving the combination problem, the “easy part” of the Hard Problem." {Credits 1}

"... Accordingly, electromagnetism seems to be the best candidate currently for the primary pathway at the scale of biological life and consciousness. A growing body of evidence suggests, however, that quantum effects are also operative and influential at the organic scale, as discussed above. The potential complementary relationship between quantum resonance and electrical resonance requires considerably more research, and we can’t say much about how these two forces interact at the organic scale, or whether they are in some sense the same resonance phenomenon with different manifestations – two sides of the same coin perhaps." {Credits 1}

{Credits 1} 🎪 Hunt, T., & Schooler, J. W. (2019). The Easy Part of the Hard Problem: A Resonance Theory of Consciousness. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 13, 378. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2019.00378. Copyright © 2019 Hunt and Schooler. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).