RE: A Conscious Universe
January 29, 2015 at 9:14 am
(This post was last modified: January 29, 2015 at 9:14 am by robvalue.)
Very interesting.
Personally, consciousness is a huge mystery to me and it is entangled in the problem of solipsism. Like (almost) everyone else I take the pragmatic approach to solipsism, but when it comes down to it, I ain't got shit. I don't know what "I" am, if I am anything at all, whether I'm just an observer, whether anything is real, what real means, whether anyone else has consciousness like I appear to... All I "know" is what I can sense and deduce, and that is never going to be conclusive. I am very far from convinced that anything I experience is even remotely real. And I'm sure I never will.
My scientific side leads me to believe consciousness is an illusion, some sort of manifestation of the inner workings of the brain, but it's not a real thing. It's like a side effect. But the "me" that actually experiences my consciousness finds this absurd, because the consciousness is literally all I have to work with. I don't know if I'll ever resolve that either, probably not.
Personally, consciousness is a huge mystery to me and it is entangled in the problem of solipsism. Like (almost) everyone else I take the pragmatic approach to solipsism, but when it comes down to it, I ain't got shit. I don't know what "I" am, if I am anything at all, whether I'm just an observer, whether anything is real, what real means, whether anyone else has consciousness like I appear to... All I "know" is what I can sense and deduce, and that is never going to be conclusive. I am very far from convinced that anything I experience is even remotely real. And I'm sure I never will.
My scientific side leads me to believe consciousness is an illusion, some sort of manifestation of the inner workings of the brain, but it's not a real thing. It's like a side effect. But the "me" that actually experiences my consciousness finds this absurd, because the consciousness is literally all I have to work with. I don't know if I'll ever resolve that either, probably not.
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Index of useful threads and discussions
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Quickstart guide to the forum