The Zen of Consciousness

"I think therefore I am." ~ Descartes
"To be, or not to be, that is the question." ~ Shakespeare
"We are the universe becoming conscious of itself." ~ Jack Gariss

Consciousness is the awareness of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, emotions, surroundings, zen.

Philosophers since the time of Descartes and Locke have struggled to comprehend the nature of consciousness and pin down its essential properties. Issues of concern in the philosophy of consciousness include whether the concept is fundamentally valid; whether consciousness can ever be explained scientifically; whether non-human consciousness exists and if so how it can be recognized; and whether it may ever be possible for computers or robots to be conscious. Lastly can consciousness can be understood in a way that does not require a dualistic distinction between the spiritual and physical states of being.

Are life and consciousness connected to the fundamental level of reality? Consciousness defines our existence and reality, but the mechanism by which the brain generates thoughts and feelings remains unknown. Most explanations portray the brain as a computer, with nerve cells ("neurons") and their synaptic connections acting as simple switches. However computation alone cannot explain why we have feelings and awareness.

We also don't know if our conscious perceptions accurately portray the external world. At its base, the universe follows the seemingly bizarre and paradoxical laws of quantum mechanics, with particles being in multiple places simultaneously, connected over distance, and with time not existing. But the classical world we perceive is definite, with a flow of time. The boundary or edge between the quantum and classical worlds somehow involves consciousness.