Unconscious, the

Anaesthesia is the science of making someone unconscious. The word comes from the Greek aesthesis, meaning sensation (from which we get the modern English word aesthetic, i.e. to please the sensations). The initial ana makes the word negative, i.e. without sensation. 

Ellenberger, H. The Discovery of the Unconscious The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry. New York Basic Books, 1979. 

In our specific case, we would have to invoke a collective unconscious structure (the archetype of the sacredness of life ) that influences the Weltanschauung of scientists somehow to maintain the holy nature of life. This archetype would not appear with the same intensity in all scientists, but would be more manifest in those for example who have, or have had, a religious background. Of course, by definition of the unconscious, the beholder is not aware of his own mental behavior. 

The essential elements of internal unity are loss of usual sense impressions and loss of self without becoming unconscious. The multiplicity of usual external and internal sense impressions (including time and space), and the empirical ego or usual sense of individuality, fade or melt away while consciousness remains. In the most complete experience, this... 

Alexander s strength drained away and he sagged back, rocking with the wagon again. As he slipped unconscious, the locket dropped from his hand and rolled about loosely on his chest. 

As little as one teaspoon of GHB can result in an overdose, which can cause slowed heart rate, confusion, agitation, respiratory depression, seizures, loss of peripheral (outer) vision, agitation, hallucinations, hypothermia (low body temperature), nausea, vomiting, coma, and unconsciousness. The risk of a deadly overdose is increased if both coma and vomiting or coma and a blocked airway occur. 

The courts have grappled with how to apply the mens rea and actus reus requirements to defendants who are asleep or unconscious. The criminal law reveals two main categories of cases related to sleep deprivation. The first involves a situation where the act of falling asleep or losing consciousness causes harm, as in the case of a sleepy driver. The other concerns a person who, while asleep or unconscious, performs an act that causes harm, as in the case of a person who, while asleep, kills his roommate. Before discussing these categories in detail, we review the two essential elements of criminal liability and how they relate to sleep deprivation. 

A highly flammable compound, ethylene forms dangerously explosive mixtures with air. It is phytotoxic (toxic to plants). Ethylene, itself, is not very toxic to animals, but it is a simple asphyxiant (see Section 13.3 and Table 13.1). At high concentrations, it acts as an anesthetic to induce unconsciousness. The only significant pathway of human exposure to ethylene is through inhalation. This exposure is limited by the low blood-gas solubility ratio of ethylene, which applies at levels below saturation of blood with the gas. This ratio for ethylene is only 0.14, compared, for example, with the very high value of 15 for chloroform.4... 

During the time of acute effect, about four or six hours, feelings of fear and anxiety lift. One feels that one can examine both one s motives and actions, and those of others, calmly and objectively, with acceptance and compassion. Affection and acceptance temporarily replace one s fears. The dominant experience is one of calm and understanding. Depending on the material contained in the unconscious, the patient will deal with any situation, from childhood traumas, to long-felt adult insecurities, to deeply repressed emotions. 

Not that there could not be found men brave enough to wrestle with such obstreperous substances. Nickles, a Swiss, lost his life in an attempt to isolate fluorine, an element more poisonous than chlorine. Louyet, too, had died of the effects of this gas while Knox, a Scotchman, ruined his health in its study. Dulong, before them, had lost an eye and three fingers while preparing nitrogen trichloride for the first time, and continued to experiment with this compound even after the accident. On another occasion this same chemical knocked Faraday unconscious. The annals of chemistry contain many such examples of heroism. 

In normal transmission of a nervous impulse from nerve to nerve, acetylcholine is released into the synapse in order to excite the receiving neuron (Figure 5.10). Unless acetylcholine is rapidly broken down, the receiving nerve is constantly fired, resulting in uncoordinated muscle movement, nausea, dizziness, and eventually seizures and unconsciousness. The serine enzyme acetylcholinesterase is responsible for the expedient breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholinesterase. 

Coma A creature suffering a Coma is in a state of deep, prolonged unconsciousness. But more than mere Sleep or Unconsciousness, the creature has become incapable of sensing or responding to any external stimulus or need. A Coma lasts for the duration of the poison, furthermore no outside force, apart from a minor miracle, can rouse a Comatose creature until the duration has expired, even if the poison has been removed or any damage has been cured. 

For my private use I call the sphere of paradoxical existence, i.e., the instinctive unconscious, the Pleroma, a term borrowed from gnosticism. Our difficulty is that we understand the psyche as what we make and regulate ourselves, and we can t get it into our heads that we are the helpless victims of psychic forces. 5... 

The cause and to some extent the cure of this disease of the evil eye are also unconscious. The person whose eyes are evil and whose look causes the often fatal gastroenteric illness is unaware of the power of that look. It is an unconscious power and an unpremeditated act, perhaps the quintessence of envy -- envidia taking on a life of its own, over and beyond intentionality.2... 

The boy fell to the sand, nearly unconscious. The leader shook him and said, "We re leaving."... 

Method of preparation administration Grind the above medicinals into fine powder and make into pills with honey weighing 3g apiece. Take 1 pill 2-3 times per day with warm water. Children should be given half the adult dose. If the patient is unconscious, the medicine may be administered by nasogastric tube. 

The plant symbolism suggests healing or transformation at a very basic, cellular level, nurtured by the light of the inner sun. It also calls to mind the Vegetative level of the nervous system, where our psychosomatic responses arise unconsciously. The absence of humans and other animals suggests that instinctual and intellectual activities have not fully revitalized in terms of action and will. The new growth even seems to be a different kind of plant,further suggesting life on a new basis. With this new attitude, illumination comes not only from outside and above but from the darkness within (lumen naturae). 

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