What is self-awareness?

Self-awareness is a another term for consciousness. It is more than having the knowledge of your own physical position and size - any computer could have that. The only physical creature we know possesses this quality is a human - or rather ourselves individually.

What things in the universe are self-aware?

The problem with a discussion of self-awareness is that there is no way to test for it - whether or not an entity is conscious can only be deduced by reasoning. I do not know whether the person reading this is actually conscious. The only entity in this universe that I know about for certain is myself - I know that I am conscious, simply because I am conscious of that fact. There is no task that can be performed by a conscious being that could not conceivably be done by an unconscious being.

There is little that can be deduced merely from the fact that I am conscious. I must therefore make an assumption:

An elementary particle¹ is not conscious

This seems to be a sensible assumption, basically because there isn't much for it to be conscious of. However, if you choose to believe that it is conscious, I cannot disprove your belief. I will hypothesise on the consequences of this alternative point of view later.

The next thing we might consider is this : Is, for example, a table conscious? Well, why consider the table as an individual object? Why not consider the parts the table is made out of? Why not consider the grains in the wood? Why not consider the molecules? Why not consider the atoms? Everything regresses back to those elementary particles, and if they are not conscious, then by logical extension neither is anything that is made out of them.

The same reasoning applies to an organic structure. A brain, though incredibly complex, is still just a tangled mess of molecules. A pile of molecules cannot, as we have just reasoned, be conscious, even if some of the molecules are DNA. Of course, a living brain has electricity in it. But electricity is just the movement of certain particles. That bunch of chemicals won't be conscious if you pass 42 million volts through it. And yet, we ourselves are conscious. So how?

Beyond Science

Of course, this whole argument is really beyond science, as true science relies on investigation and experimentation, which cannot be done in this case. But we must now go beyond what is known by science. We have proven (although still subject to our initial assumption) that a physical construct cannot, in itself, be conscious. But we are. Therefore, we must be more than a physical construct. What else can there be to us?

It would seem that we must have what is commonly referred to as a soul. (This is different from the soul mentioned in the Bible, which refers to a person as a whole. The common modern meaning of the word soul is closer to what is referred to in the Bible as 'spirit'.) This soul would be conscious, and would merely use our brain (and hence our body) as a tool for interacting with the world. It follows that our soul, or our mind, can interact with the physical world on a small scale, in order to receive information from, and send information to, our brain.

If true, what are the consequences of this fact?

Note : Since I am a Christian (although still open minded on the matter of a soul, since the Bible does not give much information on the matter), I will be pointing out a few extra points here in light of what the Bible tells us. These points will be in italic writing, so if you don't believe the Bible then you can ignore them if you wish.

• Evolution alone cannot be responsible for our existence

  Evolution is a physical process, and cannot be responsible for something that is non-physical. Also, since there is no task that can be performed by a conscious being that could not conceivably be done by an unconscious being, there is no natural advantage to being conscious.

• Animals may be self-aware

  The current scientific view² on animals, based on their brain structures, is that they have no real emotions or awareness, and actually act purely on instinct. But consciousness and possibly emotion are things that just tend to be mirrored in our brains and are not actually based there, so the scientific tests may be inaccurate

• We can have free-will

  Again, the current scientific view is that the areas of the brain
  responsible for conscious thought only show any stimulation after you choose to make an action. That is, you as a conscious being never actually make decisions, you just rationalise what you've done after it's happened. Of course, if you take the view that you have a mind separate from your body, then this experimental data is easily explained. Your mind makes the decision, it transmits the necessary information to the parts of your brain relative to action, and then it gives the information to other parts of your brain to be committed to memory, or for some similar function.

• Reproduction is more than a physical process

  While an embryo doesn't have a brain, there is no reason a mind could not interact with the embryo itself, shifting to the brain when necessary. We have no reason to assign any particular time to it's acquiring a mind, except that it will probably be time of some significance, like conception or the development of the first brain cells. 36 weeks is an unlikely candidate, and the view that the baby before that time has no right to life is ungrounded.

  In view of the fact, revealed in the book of Psalms, that God values even an embryo, we can assume the soul is present from the moment of conception

• Transcendental meditation is possible

  If the mind has a position in spacetime, there is no reason it cannot go somewhere else. If it has no position, then it could be said to already be everywhere, and it's just a case of how much of it you can be aware of.

  Transcendental meditation is thought to be dangerous, as it may allow demons to enter your temporarily vacant body. Also, remember Gods condemnation of angels who 'forsook their proper dwelling place'.

• Telepathic and telekinetic powers are possible

  Since your mind interacts with your brain, it can interact with physical objects, and possibly with someone elses brain.

• Explanation of the resurrection

  The Bible does not say that the soul is immortal. However, it is possible that when a person dies, their soul continues to exist for a time, but doesn't do or think anything since it doesn't have any brain to think with. Under this theory, God would resurrect people by creating new bodies and bringing their souls back into contact with them. A soul would not die itself until what is called in Revelation 'the second death', from which 'there is no resurrection'. Please note that, apart from the first sentence, this is my speculation based on mere human reasoning.

What about the alternative view?

Of course, all those things are subject to the initial assumption that an elementary particle is not conscious. What if it is? While the idea may seem ludicrous, it cannot be disproven or even have a probability assigned to it, so it cannot be dismissed.

I know that I am conscious. According to this hypothesis, every particle in my body is also conscious. Once again, there is no reason only to consider my body as a whole object. Why not consider my arm or my leg? In fact, why not consider every possible combination of particles in my body³? According to this theory, all these combinations should also exist as consciousnesses, and all of them have a roughly equal right to control my body. Why should it be the thoughts of one mind in particular that get acted upon all the time?

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