re: #8 Jimmah

Chinese medicine also recommends powdered tiger penis as an aphrodisiac so actually it’s not really that surprising to find that they have no significant role for the brain in their ‘medicine’.

As far as I know, Chinese people who suffer brain injuries have their consciousness affected as much as anyone else.

This doesn’t sound just a little bit racist at worst, and culturally elitist at best? I really don’t know how that entry became number three in the Google search, regarding animal penises, but the reality is that there are a some staple herbs, much like a major scale, in Chinese medicine (penises are not among these), and they are very effective—if the healthcare consumer knows how to make informed choices.

As far as I know, Chinese people who suffer brain injuries have their consciousness affected as much as anyone else.

Yes, the Chinese people fall and injure themselves just like everyone else. For that matter, so do the Indians. (There is the story of BKS Iyengar’s recovery from a terrible motorcycle accident, using Yoga as his primary therapy. I don’t think anyone can argue with the results.)

Ancient Chinese scientists/philosophers essentially provided the technological tools that led to the European Industrial Revolution. Again, the question is whether you are being scientific or parochial.

So, if someone living within modern Chinese culture suffers a brain injury, either western medicine or TCM can be used, and both can be effective even though the practitioners are using two completely different paradigms of human anatomy and physiology.

Yet, when speaking about consciousness, of the two models, the Chinese long ago have opened the question and made the most progress on the road to understanding transcendent consciousness, not to mention having a greater understanding of sense of self. But again, this question can be examined.