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What Is Consciousness?
Self-Awareness: What Makes You
Under Dog Jones never has a bad day. But his dad can and does only because of one massive difference between rescue mutt and man: consciousness.
You are different than any dog, cat, or turtle by your consciousness. In other words, humans are self-aware. And unlike animals like dogs, as one example, who are unconditionally loving, human self-awareness can be a double-edged sword.
Consciousness is one of science and philosophy’s most intriguing and complex concepts. At its core, consciousness refers to our awareness of ourselves and the world. It allows us to experience thoughts, emotions, and sensations and to have a sense of self.
This article will explore the basic tenets and current theories of consciousness to help you understand. We’ll cover the nature of consciousness, the science we know, and what philosophers say about consciousness.
The Nature of Consciousness
“Consciousness poses the most baffling problems in the science of the mind. There is nothing that we know more intimately than conscious experience, but there is nothing that is harder to explain.”
- David J. Chalmers, The Conscious Mind
