[CraigS]

Originally Posted by bojan

You don't have to know what consciousness is to know why anaesthesia has its effects. The way I see it is simple: it blocks the acquisition of data from outside world (by stopping the CPU clock (or whatever this is in brains) and there is no more memory storage during that time.

Bojan .. I am not at all convinced of your assertion here.
For example, you just defined what consciousness is (for you) in order to explain why anaesthesia works ! Ie you define consciousness to be:

Originally Posted by bojan

the acquisition of data from outside world

.. in order for your explanation to make sense, as to ‘why’ it works.

There are many different definitions of consciousness applicable to many different fields of study, and the same applies when discussing the specific subject of anaesthesia.

For example: protein targets for anaesthetics have been partly identified.
This requires a molecular/sub molecular definition of what causes consciousness at this level, ie: presumably, “the protein targets”, in order for the explanation of ‘why’ it has an effect, to make sense.

Further, its interesting that the exact nature of general anaesthetic-protein interactions still remains a mystery. I maintain that its not until they understand the interactions, that consciousness will achieve some clarity of definition in the study of anaesthesia.

I think the ‘why’ questions in science, require a much deeper understanding of the ‘what’.

Another example: if there were such a thing as anti-gravity, then I think you’d have to explain exactly the gravity mechanism, before you could explain why the anti-gravity mechanism effects gravity in the way it does.

You’ve got me thinking very deeply about this and I’m going to have to do a lot more, before I’m convinced. (I'm open to more inputs .. but for the sake of not dragging the thread down, I'll do this quietly on my own … fascinating !).

Cheers