Richard Smoley - Richard Smoley's Blog

I've just come across this item (see link at left, "Consciousness as a Property of Matter") and think it's interesting enough to comment on.

There are some problems with it: I always raise my eyebrows when I come across peculiar neologisms such as "conceptronium" and "perceptronium." But I do think it's valuable that there Read More

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What is consciousness?

December 2, 2015

Tags: consciousness, cognitive science, Hinduism, epilepsy, Bitbol, Gospel of John, self, phenomenology, epistemology, Ramana Maharshi, Samkhya, Edison

One of today’s hottest topics is consciousness. Where does it come from? How does it relate to matter (e.g., the brain)? What does consciousness mean anyway?

The answers have been maddeningly vague, and often circular. What is consciousness? Uh, well, awareness. What is awareness? Uh, well, perception. What is perception? Read More

3 Comments

Comments

Dec 10, 2015 1:13 PM EST

I like this article. I've never been happy about people saying the mind and the brain are the same thing. This clarified things for me and I especially like the thought that all the atoms and smaller entities are conscious in a way. There's no such thing as 'dead matter'!

- Sarah Barratt

Dec 10, 2015 1:41 PM EST

From what you write a question arises, as to whether an oxygen atom has a free choice in bonding with the hydrogen atoms in its periphery, and whether it is responsible for the consequences of its choice to create chemical reactions. Because, if that is so, it must learn to pay attention, cognize and recognize the world outside itself, so as to make the 'best' choice. Could there be a process of education at the atomic level?

I believe that the deliberate act of placing one's attention on elements of the world and pondering its mystery somehow produces more consciousness in oneself, and possibly in the world too.

There is a sense of mystery that probably arises out of a paradox between perceiving 'the world', (the other), as a singularity (an abstract sense of being), or as plurality (the contents of this singularity, which also happens to include oneself). And so in contemplating the world one happens to be contemplating oneself too.
The mystery between 'self' and 'other' is profound to contemplate, especially when one considers that out of one's continuous and random interactions with the world, one finds oneself part of a continuous process of change where all forms are evanescent, where one's sense of being is sometimes a singularity and at other times a plurality.

Concerning the question as to whether we become wiser with age, and whether human consciousness is evolving I agree with you that this isn't an automatic process. Indeed, I have seen children which are more set in their ways and in their beliefs than old people, and I have met old people who have a fresh view of reality. I do not know why this happens, but I have an intuitive sense in recognising what is more useful and beneficial to me.
I'm reminded here of a quote from Carlos Castaneda's “ A Separate Reality”where Don Juan is saying to Castaneda:
"An old man has not exhausted the world. He has exhausted only what people do. But in his stupid confusion he believes that the world has no more mysteries for him. What a wretched price to pay for our shields!
A warrior is aware of this confusion and learns to treat things properly. The things that people do cannot under any conditions be more important than the world.
And thus a warrior treats the world as an endless mystery and what people do as an endless folly..."

- Byron Zeliotis

Dec 21, 2015 3:57 PM EST

Here's part of what I said about consciousness in my (still incomplete) ENLIGHTENMENT 101:

Consciousness isn't the same thing as thinking because we can be aware of our thoughts; thoughts take place within consciousness and are therefore secondary to it. We can also be conscious without having any thoughts—only perceptions. You've probably had a moment in which you gaze blankly at a spot without thinking anything, just passively experiencing what's happening, as if in a daze. This shows that perceptions, too, are secondary to the field of awareness in which they occur.
Many things can be learned about the contents of consciousness—thoughts, perceptions, feelings, values, beliefs, memories, related physiological processes, and so forth. The organization of these contents into a recognizable configuration is what we call psyche or mind. When someone says "I know his mind well," the person means roughly "I know how the contents of his or her consciousness are configured into a thinking style, or an intellectual approach or response to a situation, and a feeling style, or an emotional approach or response."
However, consciousness itself, the basic act of being aware, is the means by which we know whatever it is that we know. Consciousness is primary and it can't be explained in terms of anything else; it can only be experienced. Without consciousness, no observations or experiences are in any way possible.
There are three principal senses in which people use the word "consciousness." First, it means simple awareness within an organism, i.e., the capacity for perceiving and feeling. In this sense, animals display personal consciousness. However, animals don't display personal self-awareness, which is the conscious (as distinguished from the nonconscious or animal-like) aspect of mind reflecting an abstract concept or image of oneself. In other words, animals don't display ego or self-identity. This uniquely human trait is the second sense in which we can answer the question "What is consciousness?" It is the awareness of yourself as a separate, independent being and the subsequent identification of yourself with some aspect or aspects of your being—your body, your intellect, your profession, your special talents, your achievements, your social status, your family lineage, etc. It is the way you define yourself to the world. It is your personal sense of self-identity.
The third sense in which "consciousness" is used takes us beyond the physical body. Since psychic research has demonstrated that telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis and out-of-body projection are real phenomena, there must be some means through which the connection between physically separate objects and events can be made. That "connection" is consciousness as the universal field in which all experience and/or awareness occurs. (Some spiritual traditions use the terms "Being," "Field of Being" and "Ground of Being" as synonyms for consciousness in this sense. That is, consciousness is a primal aspect of God, the source of all existence. I elaborate on this in "Consciousness and Substance—The Primal Forms of God” in The Meeting of Science and Spirit.)

- John White

Has Consciousness Evolved?

November 29, 2015

Tags: consciousness, New Age, Blavatsky, Gurdjieff, Theosophy, Gebser, evolution, Guénon, Kali Yuga, Ken Wilber

The idea that consciousness is evolving is one of the most important doctrines of the New Age. But is it true?

Over the long term, the answer seems obvious. Even the stupidest of humans is far more intelligent and sophisticated than a trilobite. Although materialists have skirted the conclusion that evolution has a direction – Read More

6 Comments

Comments

Nov 29, 2015 12:48 PM EST

I think things are definitely more complex for people nowadays, and everything is changing quicker. Perhaps consciousness needs to find a way of dealing with this, and in doing so will have to evolve in order to be "subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive." I think the depth of knowledge itself is unfathomable, and that unfathomableness has to find new ways to express itself.

- T. Davies

Nov 29, 2015 7:25 PM EST

NIce work, Richard. Thanks for the perspective.

- Margaret Placentra Johnston

Nov 29, 2015 9:20 PM EST

Very interesting, Richard. Will be late for work because I couldn't tear myself away.

- Ligia Luckhurst

Dec 02, 2015 8:30 PM EST

It seems to me that you are confusing consciousness with intelligence. It may be that as a whole the human species is becoming more intelligent and able to handle abstract complexities more easily than it could a few thousand years ago, but that is not to say that it is more conscious. A very wise man once described consciousness to me 'consciousness arises when one thing becomes aware of another' you have said when one relates to another which is a far more complex statement. Consciousness is simple. Wake up, shut off your internal dialogue and just be aware - consciousness has arisen.

- Byakazan

Dec 03, 2015 10:23 AM EST

Excellent analysis, Richard, thank you. Whether inner evolution for mankind as a whole is possible is a timely question.

For me, another pressing question is whether my own conciousness can evolve and if yes, how can I be aware of it as it occurs (avoiding fantasy and imagination) and what must I do to facilitate its evolution.

- Michael

Dec 15, 2015 4:54 AM EST

This essay, and Byakazan's comment, caused me to think about the distinction between consciousness, intelligence, and wisdom. I wonder if a good working definition of the latter would be degree of mastery over oneself whereas intelligence might be understood as the degree of mastery over one's environment; of one's efficacy. Accepting these definitions, many of the authors referenced in this article seem to have a preference for wisdom over intelligence: why waste effort pursuing satisfaction in the environment when it can be achieved via the 'shortcut' of seeking it within?

That still leaves the definition and role of consciousness as a sort of side issue... the space within which both self and environment occur.

Anyway, great food for thought. Glad to see you've created a blog, Richard! Looking forward to the new book, especially as I've been devouring hours and hours worth of Robert M. Price's "Bible Geek" podcast for the past year or so. Should be interesting.

- K. Hoffman