Consciousness

[Alan V]

Then why can't I build a shed on it?

 If consciousness is concrete, what are its physical properties? How much does a cubic centimetre of consciousness weigh? What is its mass? How does it react to heat, light, gravity? Is it a conductor or an insulator? If it gets wet, do I dry it off with a microfibre cloth or a paper towel? Can I paint it?

Boru

The brain?

The very same brain can be either conscious or unconscious, or it can be conscious of some things but unconscious of others.  Consciousness is no doubt brain-dependent, and the conditions which allow for consciousness are physical (electrical activation, neurochemistry, brain structures), but consciousness itself is a bit more elusive.  That's why scientists refer to it as an emergent property or a function of the brain rather than as the brain itself, just like language is a function of the brain.

What we are conscious of is information.  That information has already been abstracted by unconscious processes which work much faster than consciousness.