What is consciousness?

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If you were to get a job studying consciousness where would you start?
The Brian is the obvious place but that doesn't mean its a fact. There is so much to learn about it. Brian
 


JonMc said:
That's what I was kind of getting at, yeah. I understand that some folk study the concept to levels that others don't but the starting point as humans is the same.
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Exactly the same for all humans, Sometimes I walk down the street and am very focused and conscious of the moment. Yet other times I walk down the street and my head is just thinking away and full of thoughts, more like day dreaming than being fully conscious of the moment.
niceonemarra said:
If you were to get a job studying consciousness where would you start?
The Brian is the obvious place but that doesn't mean its a fact. There is so much to learn about it. Brian
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I'm not sure about the Brian. His own mother said he was just a very naughty boy.
 
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niceonemarra said:
I didn't mention subconsciousness it was Cow.

Awareness fits better than conscious I suppose, its the same thing really however somebody who isn't aware can still have a conscious so that could be a problem between the terms awareness and consciousness.

edit: its getting too deep now
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In medicine, there’s levels of consciousness and a tool to measure it is the Glasgow Coma Score, there’s a level for you
 
cornish mackem said:
In medicine, there’s levels of consciousness and a tool to measure it is the Glasgow Coma Score, there’s a level for you
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Heart rate and brain activity can be scaled. Without one or the other consciousness isn't going to happen. Every time a question is answered another 10 questions arise.
 
niceonemarra said:
But trees have a present and they don't have a conscious.
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How do you know they don't have a conscious?
Take a look at plants and how they set themselves up to survive. Venus fly trap plants. Plants that camouflage.
I think every living thing has a consciousness.
The fact that we don't recognise it is basically down to our own ignorance or inability to understand that side. In my opinion.
 
Nukehasslefan said:
How do you know they don't have a conscious?
Take a look at plants and how they set themselves up to survive. Venus fly trap plants. Plants that camouflage.
I think every living thing has a consciousness.
The fact that we don't recognise it is basically down to our own ignorance or inability to understand that side. In my opinion.
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Just a wild guess.
 
Nukehasslefan said:
How do you know they don't have a conscious?
Take a look at plants and how they set themselves up to survive. Venus fly trap plants. Plants that camouflage.
I think every living thing has a consciousness.
The fact that we don't recognise it is basically down to our own ignorance or inability to understand that side. In my opinion.
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What is your definition of consciousness? If a bacteria in your gut has consciousness, what is it? If a grass seed has consciousness, what is it?
 
JonMc said:
That's what I was kind of getting at, yeah. I understand that some folk study the concept to levels that others don't but the starting point as humans is the same.
Click to expand...

Buddha was a human being who achieved enlightenment or freedom. The same with Jesus in my opinion. I think it is more a case of practice of the method than study of the concepts. In Buddhism the various stages have been articulated and recorded to provide support of the practice but the practice remains supreme. Its no good reading the various concepts if you don't practice the way. In fact the starting point is the same step you take every step of the way. In the end there is no attainment or non-attainment. As Buddha said in the Diamond Sutra there is no need for the raft once you have crossed the ocean. There are no teachings and no non-teachings. There is only freedom or liberation. An experience, not a concept.
 
I think what has been interesting about the thread so far are the attempts to define consciousness from different perspectives ranging from an electron obeying the laws of physics as it orbits a proton through the awareness of trees to the consciousness of animals including human beings. Maybe consciousness is not the word to describe this wide range of cognition at different levels. Perhaps the universe itself has an inherent cognitive ability as it continues along the arrow of time with wave function collapse in every moment that we call reality. Perhaps words are too limited and any attempt to define consciousness will simply end up as a definition of something else. How would you describe the colour red to a blind man?
 
Nukehasslefan said:
Yep. And so does everything else you perceive. It means that's your consciousness of perceiving that at any specific instance in the present.

What you now have to ask yourself is, does a rock appear to be a living consciousness or a end result of expired one time consciousness.
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Say that in English.
 
Harry Angstrom said:
Say that in English.
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It means the rock exists to your mind at any specific moment you physically see it in the now. The present.

If you see that existing rock as a consciousness in itself, you're not really conscious of it, because you do not know if it has a conscious or whether it had one but is now the end product of it, which has expired.
 
niceonemarra said:
If you were to get a job studying consciousness where would you start?
The Brian is the obvious place but that doesn't mean its a fact. There is so much to learn about it. Brian
Click to expand...

I always find this an interesting question because it makes me wonder, what would be the benefit to a human being? You could explain the science of the colour red to a blind man but he wouldn't suddenly be able to see the colour red. What would be the greatest wonder, to see the colour red for yourself or to learn the science and concepts behind the process? If you could give that choice to a blind man, I'm pretty sure what the answer would be.

Of course the reason is intellectual curiosity and that is fine but intellectual curiosity can also distract us and in the end be of no value. You have consciousness. There are two ways to approach understanding and knowledge. The external where you learn the concepts and the inner where you explore the experience. Both are observational. Intellectual curiosity will lead to the first option but a thirst to know will lead to the second.

Thirst is an important aspect. Hatha Yoga (exercises) has become very popular in the West over the last 50 years but Hatha Yoga was originally the physical training that was a preparation for Raja Yoga (meditation). To practise Hatha Yoga without following up with practice of Raja Yoga is like keeping the car in your garage in perfect condition without ever taking it out on a journey. That may sound harsh but you need no thirst to practice Hatha Yoga effectively and so its easy money for the instructor who needs no thirst to teach.

So we have consciousness but the real issue for us as human beings is what do we do with that.
 
Cow said:
This is what he does, posts a semi interesting topic, thread has potential, you provide a good posts and he replies with utter nonsense, unfortunately our conscious states make us aware of his replies. Consciousness has lots of obvious perks but unconsciousness is the desired state for reading his replies

Interesting concept, we became too self aware...do you think we’ve become too self aware of the correct parts of us? Think I’d argue we haven’t, a lot of people seem to be ignorant to the true emotions that we feel (conscious or unconscious) yet a lot of us are acutely aware of whimsical high level awareness that’s fed to us through media and advertising telling us how we should be
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I agree with you. Consciousness includes self-delusion and other biases that allow folk to get through.
 

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