Originally Posted by
mikotaku
Do you ever wonder:
1. What, exactly, is our consciousness?
2. Will we ever get the same feeling, after we're dead, of being inside another sack of flesh, or organic matter (rebirth)?
3. If #2's answer is yes, how long will it be between death and birth? Will I feel it?
4. What does it feel like to be on a lower level of consciousness, like a dog, or a fish, or even a tree? Do trees even have consciousnesses?
As for me, I've thought a lot about it, but I don't have anything solid that I believe, because it's useless whether I do or not.
p.s keep religious babble to a minimum/non-existant level
discuss (pleasantly)
EDIT: I'm not just talking about rebirth. Try talking about number 4 too.
1. A state of alertness and perception, when our brain is "turned on" and working.
2. You won't get any feeling because there won't be anyone to do the "feeling". All your signal receptors would be destroyed after you are dead, along with the unit that used to process and interpret them (teh brain). Perception will (logically, at least) cease to exist. You would be no more.
3. Errr...What? You mean reincarnation or something?
4. Consciousness is really a broad term. To an extent, any organism that is able to perceive anything whatsoever is 'conscious', including trees and cockroaches. The question is "how many perceptions and mental processes must an organism have for us to call it conscious"? It really depends. Human consciousness entails a lot of mental processes because we can perceive and analyze a lot more data due to our large brain.
As for how it feels - i don't know, but i can imagine it well i think.
PS: also, you can't just "cram" human ego/consciousness into a dog....or a cat....It would not work there.
A dog's brain is not quite as powerful, and structured differently to top it off. I'm pretty sure their memory capacity is far less, too. All these incompatibilities.
Last edited by Odlov; Jan 3, 2010 at 06:03 PM.