This is a difficult problem if you've not thought about it before. If you believe consciousness is the result of neural processes, and basically that boils down to electro-chemical complexity, then what I said won't make sense.
But what if consciousness is not created by the brain, but is made of some kind of primordial substance
which associates with the brain. In previous threads I've proposed this primordial substance as a sort of vibrant "illumination" since people who've become skilled at meditation report that consciousness seems composed of something like that. There is an idea coined "neutral monism" by Bertrand Russell, which explains the most fundamental existence as just some kind of absolute stuff. The idea is that this fundamental existence stuff is uncreated and indestructible, and it exists in a infinite "ocean" or continuum. Everything from matter and energy to consciousness would be a "form" of the fundamental existence stuff. Now, say there are dynamics in the fundamental existence continuum that can cause some of this "stuff" to become conscious. Since its indestructible, maybe it evolves for an unimaginable period and develops abilities, including the ability to give its own fundamental existence stuff, now conscious, shapes. One of those shapes is matter, and a few billion years of development down the road is biology, then a central nervous system that can sort of "draw" in the raw conscious energy from the originating pool to be become an individual.
Even after explaining everything is one substance, some people still see the rough model I gave you as dualistic. I will explain about that when I answer your next question since you seem to see physical and non-physical as meaning dualism.
In another thread where I've been debating, I attempted to explain why if there is some one most fundamental existent stuff, then it solves the problem of dualism. Here's how I answered there using water vapor as an analogy for the fundamental existent stuff, water for energy, and ice for matter (i.e., they are analogous in that they all three are "forms" of the same H20 "stuff"):
I’ll rely on the analogy of gas, liquid, and solid forms of water to elucidate. Let’s say water vapor is the fundamental existent; that is, water vapor is extended infinitely in every direction, so we’ll call it the vapor continuum. It was never created, it can never be destroyed, it can only change form. How might it change form? Part of the dynamics of the vapor continuum are temperature fluctuations. Every great once in while a spot in the continuum cools enough for the vapor to turn to liquid water. Let’s say in even a greater once in a while, cooling and warming happens over and over again at one exact spot, so that that spot becomes conditioned, acquires traits, and actually “learns” to change itself back and forth between vapor and liquid; and then later it learns to cool itself even more and create solid ice.
The “knowledge” of this is most realized in the vapor condition, because that is what defines fundamental existence. Interestingly, because “knowing” is present in the vapor, when it uses itself to form water, that water has a bit of “knowing” built into it too, though dulled by density; the same is true of the solid condition, except the knowing is even more dulled (because it’s more dense). Now, if a being were made up of vapor (consciousness) water (energy) and ice (matter), they all share a existential relationship (i.e., they are all made up of the same substance), and all share the “knowledge” that is built into them, but at different levels of knowing.
Because in this case “physical” is defined as when the fundamental stuff acquires structure, we call ice (matter) physical, and we also call water (energy) physical because (viewing from our physical perspective) it appears to be derived from ice (matter) as it “melts”; and because the vapor (spirit?) has no structure, we call it non-physical. Now, as for how vapor (as
conscious fundamental existent stuff) could trigger energy to move matter, since the vapor naturally and always exists at a higher temp, when it “touches” ice, that causes a release of water. The vapor itself doesn’t give up water (energy) because that’s not the condition vapor is in. But the natural “warm” way it is will cause energy to flow. Since (returning to the reality of biology) there are huge neural networks set up to channel the flow of energy, all the “warm” consciousness has to do is touch the stored energy spots in the right place to trigger release and action.
The bigger point is, there is really no
essential difference in all the absolute essence and its forms, there are just different conditions determining how they are experienced from our perspective living here in the “frozen” universe. If that’s the case, then you cannot classify the fundamental existent as physical. All that’s physical are forms of the fundamental existent, the fundamental existent is not a form of the physical.
I hope that was helpful.
