I see the human organism as a layering of different levels of consciousness. Each layer supports mostly automated processes that sustain the layers beneath it.
For example, we have cells that only know what it’s like to be a cell and to perform their cellular processes without any awareness of the more complex layers above them. Organs are much more complex than cells and they perform their duties without any awareness of anything above them either. And the complexity keeps increasing with various systems like endocrine, cardiovascular, etc. Then we have our subconscious and finally our conscious.
At our level, we do not consciously control any of the layers beneath us. Our primary task is to keep our bodies alive.
This got me thinking… isn’t it a little too self aggrandizing to think that we have a near infinite layering of consciousness beneath us and then it just stops at our level of awareness? What if there is some other conscious process that exists above us within our own bodies?
When people take psychedelic drugs they often describe achieving a higher level of awareness akin to ecstasy. Well what if this layer is always there actively ”living” within us but we are just the chumps that go to work, do our taxes, and exercise, while it doles out just enough feel good chemicals to keep us going (sometimes not even that)?
Interesting intellectual work. You can further extrapolate though, there’s no good reason not to, within the thought experiment. Why should consciousness stop at cells or solar systems?
Then you can consider the multitude of distinct philosophies that are fond of all things being fundamentally and inescapably interconnected in ways we do not understand yet.
Even Jesus said the Kingdom of God lies within us, not external to us.
I actually don’t believe that consciousness stops at cells or solar systems :). I am a panpsychist which holds the view that everything in our universe is made up of consciousness (just not the super intelligent type that we typically associate with the word).
People usually get hung up on the idea… “how can you consider this rock to be conscious”. Well within this rock there are protons, neutrons, electrons, atoms, molecules, etc, that all “know” how to do their thing to form a rock. If things weren’t conscious then nothing in our universe would have a shape. I believe that higher states of consciousness arise from simpler lower states.
I also suspect that consciousness is far more complex than we have guessed at so far. I’m betting the AI pursuit is going to be the research path that eventually nails it down.
Which will dismay a great many people that disagree with the idea that humans are supposed to create our own world, and bear responsibility for the things we create.
I’ve always been curious at scaling up to astrological size. Galaxies just being possible cells in an even larger entity. Not that I take this as some belief, just something I think about often.
By now, I think that’s pretty much confirmed as fact, given the discovery of galaxy filaments.
How interesting!