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Define consciousness

Define consciousness

Spirituality

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@secondson said
Except you have the conscious capacity to imagine the infinite and eternal.
Consciousness includes the capacity to speculate about abstract things, but the capacity to imagine "the infinite and eternal" is only one of countless such things so, as an idea, it takes up more words than it's worth in such a concise definition.

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@fmf said
I think my consciousness will cease when my "physical frame" ceases to exist. In the meantime, I think my consciousness is the ability to perceive my existence within an environment and to be aware of my capacity to affect or be affected by that environment.
We are conscious of time and eternity.

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@secondson said
And the conscience has the capacity to be aware of eternity.
Conscience is just one aspect consciousness and it does not necessarily have anything whatsoever to do with "the capacity to be aware of eternity".

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@secondson said
We are conscious of time and eternity.
That's just one limited aspect of the capacity that is consciousness. Honing in on it does not make for a good definition.

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@secondson said
Consciousness.
Consciousness and conscience are not synonyms.

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Have we defined consciousness yet?

We can define the heart, what it's made of and its function because it has material substance, but not so the consciousness.

We has an idea of its function, but no idea about its substance.

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@fmf said
Consciousness and conscience are not synonyms.
I'm aware of that.

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@secondson said
Perhaps children haven't yet developed the vocabulary.
If you believe humans have to have a vocabulary [or language] in order to have consciousness, then perhaps you should come out and state it.

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@secondson said
Have we defined consciousness yet?
It's a capacity for self-awareness and abstraction that our brain's functions equip us with. Can we agree to at least that?

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@fmf said
That's just one limited aspect of the capacity that is consciousness. Honing in on it does not make for a good definition.
What gives us the capacity to be consciously aware of the infinite and eternal?

If consciousness ceases to exist at the death of the body, then being conscious of eternity is a trick of the mind. It's only the imagination.

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@secondson said
We has an idea of its function, but no idea about its substance.
I think its "substance" is the ability to access memories and recognize oneself as the witness and perpetrator of the events that those memories record ~ and then the ability to make decisions and act based on that narrative.

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@fmf said
If you believe humans have to have a vocabulary [or language] in order to have consciousness, then perhaps you should come out and state it.
I don't believe having a language is a prerequisite for having a consciousness.

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@secondson said
What gives us the capacity to be consciously aware of the infinite and eternal?
I'd say the answer is, the functioning of our brains. It also gives us the capacity to be consciously aware of countless other notions aside from "the infinite and eternal".

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@fmf said
It's a capacity for self-awareness and abstraction that our brain's functions equip us with. Can we agree to at least that?
I'm still trying to figure it out, but right now I gots to go.

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@secondson said
If consciousness ceases to exist at the death of the body, then being conscious of eternity is a trick of the mind. It's only the imagination.
A pretty basic perspective that consciousness gives most people is the idea that things go on without us after we cease to exist. I don't think being conscious of things going on without us after we die, perhaps even for eternity, is "a trick of the mind".

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