Why do we need to study the field of consciousness? What is the current understanding of consciousness in the scientific community?

• Fundamental to human experience
• No other issues without it!
• Required by Quantum Mechanics
• Treated as a "black box"
• No adequate predictive theory
• "Consciousness Studies" field stalled

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Here we look at some of the reasons why the mainstream study of consciousness is in a state of confusion.

• Cultural and linguistic bias
• Aristotelian logical assumptions
• Platonic idealist metaphysics
• Identification and Elementalism
• Treating consciousness as an object
• Improper ontological analysis

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So what really is an Ontology? This section covers the various meanings of the term Ontology and the subject areas where it is used.

• Classical: all categories of existence
• Philosophy: categories and substance
• Religion: collection of stories that present a worldview
• Science: formal model of a possibility space - language or mathematics
• Web: description of page content using semantic standards

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What do we mean by Ontology? It is what determines our experience and our reality!

• Not just a word - an experiential object
• Not equal to "beliefs"
• Structural assumptions
• Semantic reactions
• Metaphysical interpretation
• Model of reality
• Meaning of experience

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This chapter deals with the fundamental structure of an ontology, which is triplicate in nature.

• Triplicate structure
  • Subject - predicate - object
  • Senses - perception - form
  • Being - consciousness - quality
• Differentiation - relation - description
• Triples: tripartite ontological objects
• Reflects nature of human experience
• Language for building language models
• RDF and OWL web ontology languages
• Formal expression of ontologies

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What is the relationship between ontology and consciousness? We explore this question and illustrate the workings of ontological thinking with an example from Quantum Physics.

• Closely-coupled relationship
• Categories and substance
• Determines level of consciousness
• Determines the universe we perceive by the Anthropic Principle
• Change ontology = change consciousness = change universe!
• Decoherence of Universal Quantum Wave Function
• Converts indefinite probabilities into definite possibilities
• Determines actualization of possibility
• "Schrödinger's Cat"

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Vedānta, ancient wisdom from the Vedic tradition provides us with scientific tools for changing our ontology. Learn briefly about Vedānta and ontology.

• Ancient wisdom from Vedic culture
• Final conclusion of the Vedic literature
• Based on ontology of consciousness
• Uses non-Aristotelian language and logic
• Provides scientific and conceptual tools for changing ontology: Bhakti-yoga

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What does Vedānta tell us about consciousness? Here we learn the proper method of treating consciousness.

• No such thing as "a consciousness"
• Abstract ontological class
• Cannot be isolated (non-elementalism)
• Associated with subject and object
• Always associated with a living entity
• Always somebody's consciousness
• Is a quality of a person

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Had enough of the theoretical stuff? Ontology is nicely explained with a simple situational analogy. This will aid in getting a clearer understanding of the theoretical aspects of this course and in piecing them together to see the whole picture.

What is ontological adjustment ? This section covers the reasons for the need of an ontological adjustment, the prescribed methods to go about it and gives us an idea of the beneficial results of such an adjustment.

• Experiential, not theoretical
• Cognitive, not verbal process
• Changes consciousness
• Incomparable benefits
• Not a small or cheap process
• May take years to complete
• Requires personal guidance
• Chiropractic adjustment for the soul
• Changes the universe you live in
• No more suffering, birth and death
• Vedānta give the process: Bhakti-yoga
• Transcendental mantras
• Devotional service

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In this concluding section of the Intro to Ontology course, we touch upon the salient points of this course and the conclusions that we hope our readers reach.