As my readers know, I've tackled this subject from a number of angles.
Conventional physics has painted itself into a corner, because it
assumes that all sub-atomic particles (the constituents of the brain and
the universe) contain no awareness whatsoever.
Therefore, there is no reason to assume that consciousness exists. The
idea that it does must be an illusion, a misnomer, a groundless
superstition, a holdover from a more primitive time.
And yet, there you are, right now, reading these words, and more
importantly, you are conscious of the fact that you're reading these
words.
So you must be crazy, the victim of an illusion. You must be the
end-user of a stream of thought over which you have no control---a
stream that "tells you" you're conscious...in the same way a voice in
your head might tell you you're living on the moon right now.
And if you multiply this unfortunate situation by about eight billion,
you have a madhouse of a planet where everyone automatically assumes
they're conscious, whereas, in fact, no one is. Everyone is a machine
responding to stimuli, some of which are prompting you to say, "I'm
conscious"---an entirely meaningless statement.
And if you buy all
that, I have golf course memberships for sale on Jupiter.
Conventional physics has painted itself into a corner, and wants to be
in that corner, because admitting there is such a thing as consciousness
is tantamount to admitting that a major component of life, the major
component of
life, is outside any analysis of matter and energy, since it, consciousness, is not made out of matter or energy.
All sorts of drug researchers would chime in at this point: "But we knew
that chemicals change consciousness by affecting the brain. Therefore,
the brain is the seat of all consciousness."
As usual, they miss the point. The
fact of being conscious, regardless of the particular state, is independent of those chemicals.
Whether you're aware of seeing buildings on a street or green writhing
polka-dot creatures directing traffic, you are the one who is aware.
You're the one who knows you're seeing buildings or creatures.
Now we're really in deep water, because, you see, you're not supposed to
exist at all. You're supposed to be a brain. You're supposed to be a
few trillion neurons clicking and ticking. You're supposed to be, at
best, "someone who thinks he's someone," or rather, "no one who thinks
he's someone."
"Hi, I'm no one who thinks he's someone."
"Hi. Me too. Let's do whatever our brains are making us do, since we can't have freedom---another illusion."
"Sounds good. Where do we start?"
"We wait for instructions. In the meantime, I have beer, wine, or sparkling water."
If it occurs to you that this mechanistic view of life has some uses for
those who are highly interested in mind control, you're right.
"Waiting for instructions" would be an ideal state for the reception of
programming. Freedom, on the other hand, would be a non-starter.
"Test subject 465-A believes he is free. His illusion is interfering with the insertion of our package of beliefs..."
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the armies of "rational people," who
are quite sure that a rejection of all-out scientific materialism would
suddenly put them in the camp of religionists. They see no other
alternatives. It's either science or a church.
Well, that's their problem. They can only entertain two possibilities. They reveal a distinct lack of imagination.
And I suppose I should also say a word about "the DNA people." They're
utterly convinced that DNA creates consciousness. But DNA is matter,
and according to the same scientists who research the whole genetic
puzzle, matter is composed of tiny particles or waves that display no
sign of consciousness.
Now, admitting that what I'm writing here won't find its way into any
TED talks (the source of all cutting-edge wisdom on the planet), I
should point out that the issue of consciousness has been plaguing
philosophers in the West ever since the onslaught of science and
technology at the end of the 19th century. And in time-honored fashion,
philosophers have opted for their favorite strategy: ignore the
problem, pretend it doesn't exist, claim the problem itself is based on a
confusion about...anything. About language, for example. Language, as
(mis)constructed, contains words that indicate the existence of
meaningless objects (like consciousness). There, all done, move along,
nothing to see here.
Finally, we have another bunch of people who would happily report:
"Scientists miss the mark. The brain and the universe are made out of
particles that do, in fact, possess consciousness. 'Everything is
conscious.'"
They say that, and for some interesting reason, they
avoid saying that the individual, the You, the non-machine non-material You, has consciousness.
They only want to posit collective consciousness. That's their tune.
They keep singing it. And if you listen to the words, they are, in
their own way, trying to erase the whole notion of the individual.
Why? Because the most basic form of mind control involves denying that
the individual exists. If they can put that one over, if they can sell
it, they can push an agenda of: The Group is All.
This resonates quite nicely with the way the world is shaping up these days. Or rather, being shaped up. On purpose.
In case you hadn't noticed.
Among the endless number of states of consciousness, there is certainly a
collective version. The individual can enter it, and he can exit it.
It's not the be-all and end-all. It's not a permanent paradise with
closed doors.
But who would notice that fact in a world where the population has
bought the idea that the conscious individual doesn't exist, and is
merely a biological machine programmed this way or that way?
Our most august intellectuals are, under the surface, arguing for the
machine view. They're mixing and matching the metaphysical and the
political on behalf of a Collective Hive, because the winds that carry
money and prestige are blowing that way.
They're selling the proposition that the individual, his consciousness,
his freedom, and his power are delusional dust of a bygone era.
They're using a story about science as their primary tool.
If you want to buy that ticket and take that ride, understand where it's going to take you.
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