Response to David Lodge's Consciousness and the Novel

In Consciousness and the Novel, David Lodge approaches the subject of human consciousness. He uses supportive literary works of other researchers and novelists to attempt to determine whether consciousness is the product of the human soul or is just a product of normal brain processes. He uses evidentiary facts supporting both sides of the argument, which I will later describe when I discuss the critical question the work raised for me. One of the key concepts Lodge uses as support numerous times in his work comes from The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion, and the Making of Consciousness” by Antonio Demasio. Lodge writes, quoting Demasio, “What happens when an organism interacts with an object is, he says, ‘a simple narrative without words.It [has] characters. It unfolds in time. And it has a beginnng, a middle and an end. The end is made up of reactions that result in a modified state of the organism.’” Demasio is explaining that humans have many experiences that are much like short stories, and those experiences can affect or change the self of the organism. Obviously, the main question this reading raised for me is this: Is self consciousness (specifically that portrayed by characters in novels) due to the possible presence of the human soul or just a normal human function? Self consciousness consists of many phenomena, including logic, dreams, likes and dislikes, empathy of others, the ability to predict the actions of others, and much more. Each of these phenomena are based on humans observing the world as a self that is based inside our heads. Humans are conscious of those phenomena and experiences and can be changed by them. Our experiences and the unique traits we display can change how we act with others, how we make decisions, and in nearly all aspects of our everyday lives.  Is that simple fact evidence that a soul or spirit exists? Or could that possibly be explained by knowledge gained through everyday experiences? Much of the evidence from literary works Lodge uses to support the fact that self consciousness is centered around normal brain functions is that knowledge gained from everyday experiences govern our very nature. Science explains that this is how our brains are wired: to learn from our mistakes or successes and allow this learning to affect how we act in the future. Science claims that how we are raised and how we are treated by society affects our relationships and actions with others. I believe this central question will never be truly answered. Scientific evidence somewhat proves and simutaneously disproves the existence of a human soul or spirit. For instance, there is no concrete or even circumstantial evidence that a soul exists in the human body; there is no designated ‘soul space’ in the body, there are no chemicals, proteins, or enzymes supporting the idea of a soul, and most importantly, there is no physical structure representing the soul. However, there are many phenomena in the human body that have not and possibly cannot be explained by science, and could therefore be explained by the presence of a soul. Many, but not all, of these phenomena include  those that I listed earlier: logic, reasoning, emotions, dreams, values, morals,and empathy. These traits obviously go above and beyond the limited amount of survival instincts explained by normal brain processes. These traits are portrayed extremely well in fictional and nonfictional novels. Novels consist of characters having a variety of experiences, moving them through time and space. The characters in most novels express the traits listed earlier. They are able to empathize with other characters, logically think through a situation, and depict a range of emotions. The writers of these novels, as well as the readers, can relate to these mannerisms because most fictional characters are based off of real life individuals or the human race. The fact that humans can even relate with fictional characters or other people could, in itself, be evidence of a soul, or just an evolutionary adaptation. As I said before, this question may never be truly answered. However, I believe that the fact that humans have a high enough intelligence level to even consider the possibility of a soul or spirit may be evidence in and of itself.