Hmm.. well. From a practical standpoint, to be fully conscious or aware is impossible. An infinite recursive series. Plus,your awareness of any event actually lags 1/2 a second or so behind the actuality.. but the brain fools you into thinking it happens 'right now'. A useful thing when your hand is burning or something, but most of what we call consciousness is (in the actual nuts and bolts of it) an illusion. Mostly subroutines.
Chalk one up for the Taoists and Buddhists.
Anybody interested should check out "The User Illusion" by Tor Norretranders (subtitle: cutting consciousness down to size)
He explores a lot of this territory without any particular axe to grind.. merely points out that we need to be aware of this illusion, and that freedom from the illusion of the 'I' means that we can understand that consciousness is a much larger something of which we are part.
What that something is, is subject to endless debate.. have fun!
Slashdot Mirror
Hmm.. well. From a practical standpoint, to be fully conscious or aware is impossible. An infinite recursive series. Plus,your awareness of any event actually lags 1/2 a second or so behind the actuality.. but the brain fools you into thinking it happens 'right now'. A useful thing when your hand is burning or something, but most of what we call consciousness is (in the actual nuts and bolts of it) an illusion. Mostly subroutines.
Chalk one up for the Taoists and Buddhists.
Anybody interested should check out "The User Illusion" by Tor Norretranders (subtitle: cutting consciousness down to size)
He explores a lot of this territory without any particular axe to grind.. merely points out that we need to be aware of this illusion, and that freedom from the illusion of the 'I' means that we can understand that consciousness is a much larger something of which we are part.
What that something is, is subject to endless debate.. have fun!