Where does consciousness reside?

Where does consciousness reside? The question is both intriguing and thought-provoking as it poses a particular challenge for both the materialist and soul sleep advocates. If all we are are our brains, then consciousness should be found in the brain. The problem is, science can't explain how an organ that is made up of mostly water (73-80%) and a little fat (10-12%) produces consciousness at all, and it may never. Science deals with the material, tangible world. But consciousness is immaterial and intangible. Therefore, it is unquantifiable. We may understand in part how the brain works. We can detect brain waves, for instance, but it's still a big leap to go from understanding how neurons fire to understanding how the brain produces thoughts. The enigma that is consciousness may, in fact, be the greatest argument for the immortal soul.

Before we begin, it should be established what we mean by consciousness so we can rule out what it is not. "Consciousness" can refer to the state of being awake or being aware, but it can also refer to the mind (will, intellect, thoughts). The two states should not be conflated. A person can be asleep or under anesthesia and unconscious, but their mind is still very much active, which is why we have dreams. Likewise, a person can be in a deep coma, yet they can still have awareness. That's why nurses are told to watch what they say around patients in a coma. Therefore, consciousness is not equivalent to arousal or being awake. Conversely, unconsciousness is not equivalent to death. When we refer to consciousness here, we are referring to the mind.

As it turns out, consciousness is quite elusive. Neurosurgeons can stimulate the brain with electrodes to produce emotions, memories, and movements, but they can't stimulate consciousness itself. Parts of the brain can be removed or be missing from birth, yet the person can still retain consciousness and a sense of self. If you remove a single gear in a mechanical watch, it will cease to function. But if parts of the brain are missing or taken out, consciousness remains unified. Such things might result in physical impairments, but consciousness itself can remain unaffected.

There is clearly a relationship between the brain and the mind, but they are also two distinct substances. The human mind is unique in its ability for abstract thought. It’s one of the things that separate us from animals. That means that the mind has both material and immaterial parts. Something that is abstract is not physical, like numbers. We know numbers exist, but they do not have physical properties. They exist only as abstract concepts. The mind is very much intangible/abstract with no discernible parts. And if the mind is not tangible, how can it be destroyed? And if it can't be destroyed, then it can exist apart from the body. Physical things die; intangible things do not. It would like to try to kill numbers, an impossibility. According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be destroyed; it only transforms. Death, then, is merely the transformation from one form to another form.

In short, there is no proof that consciousness is a product of the biological brain. Nor can it be proven that once the biological brain is gone, consciousness, that is, the mind, ceases to exist. There are theories that could explain how this is possible, such as the theory that consciousness is non-local, possibly existing in a higher spatial dimension undetectable to us. That would explain why locating the mind is so elusive. If that's the case, then the brain is merely an antenna or receiver for the consciousness. The mind transmits instructions to the brain, which would then relay those instructions to the body, acting as an intermediary. 

To use an analogy, the mind is like a computer programmer, and the brain is like a computer. Something might go wrong with the computer, and it might even stop working, preventing it from receiving instructions. However, the computer programmer will remain unaffected. There are certain physical and biological processes that can interfere with that connection, such as brain damage, but the connection isn't lost until death. Once the body dies, the connection is severed, and our consciousness unplugs, as it were, and becomes fully aware of the multidimensional (spiritual) world around us.

The brain/body is merely a receptacle for our spirit/soul/consciousness (whatever you wish to call it). If you've seen the movie Avatar, you'll get the idea. Near-death experiences, while anecdotal, would also support this conclusion. In many accounts, individuals were accurately able to describe what was happening to them when they should have been dead or unconscious at the very least. Two great books on this subject are "Am I Just My Brain?" by Sharon Dirckx and "The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon's Case for the Existence of the Soul" by Michael Egnor and Denyse O'Leary.