Where did consciousness come from?

Question

I knew i was conscious when i was about 3 or 4 years old. I know because I remember those years. I knew I existed because when i woke up the next day, i was the same person, and i sort remember what happened the day before. i remember the experiences i have, who these people i lived with and see everyday. But before that i had no idea if i was even alive! I was only a baby, or an infant, or even just a fetus! Where did this "mind" come from? How is it different than other animals? Can a computer have consciousness? Can i surpass this consciousness and wake up super-human the same way i did when i was just a baby growing into a toddler?

Answer 1

The Origin of consciousness



Consciousness is both temporal and eternal. The basic functions of consciousness are perception and organization of sensation by neurons. Once you have the input and integration of the input you have a conscious being. Anything that reacts to incoming stimuli is conscious. Its much like asking where arms come from? We can't give a precise reduction of such things but we can intuit their previous, underevolved, versions. When you have enough neurons comprising a brain the brain becomes a self-aware agent.



Computer Consciousness



Some computers are already conscious. Some are even self-aware, able to recognize themselves in a mirror. This is more conscious than most animals which don't pass the self-aware experiment.



Super-consciousness



Once you combine the six domains of consciousness (atomic, molecular, biological, phenomenal, ecological, astronomical) into a single seventh dimension of consciousness you will have emerged with super-consciousness. Its all a recursive repeating, and once you realize this you think of the mind as being completely dependent on all material organization in the universe.

Answer 2

One explanation is, consciousness is from both your brain and-- the soul. only by this way could explain that why you can't remember the things before 3 years old when your brain had yet grown to a certain level, so even you had soul you still cant remember anything. And computers and Artificial Intelligence robots don't have souls, therefore they can never get consciousness no matter how great their systems are.

Another explanation is, there's no soul, consciousness just come from brain, only creatures has consciousness and things like computer has no.

Apparently science prefers the second one since the existence of soul can not be proved.

Answer 3

Its usually emergent from the host so by 3 years it has fully formed but will change constantly , its an energy that once formed interacts with brain/body , an animal is the same but less complicated humans developed anxiety about 3 mya this upsets the energy balance reduces goodness energy efficiency , a computer could develop a computer consciousness but would require a very human like body / brain to have a human like consciousness robotics is proving this , we can return our consciousness to full goodness as long as too much damage /sin has not been done , as an Evolutional Goodhist I have huge control over mine now this takes much practice to do something that should happen naturally and does for some lucky people.

Answer 4

The self-awareness requirement might get interpreted in a variety of ways, and which creatures would qualify as conscious in the relevant sense will vary accordingly. If it is taken to involve explicit conceptual self-awareness, many non-human animals and even young children might fail to qualify, but if only more rudimentary implicit forms of self-awareness are required then a wide range of nonlinguistic creatures might count as self-conscious.



The functional or Why question asks about the value or role or consciousness and thus indirectly about its origin. Does it have a function, and if so what is it? Does it make a difference to the operation of systems in which it is present, and if so why and how? If consciousness exists as a complex feature of biological systems, then its adaptive value is likely relevant to explaining its evolutionary origin, though of course its present function, if it has one, need not be the same as that it may have had when it first arose. Adaptive functions often change over biological time. Questions about the value of consciousness also have a moral dimension in at least two ways. We are inclined to regard an organism's moral status as at least partly determined by the nature and extent to which it is conscious, and conscious states, especially conscious affective states such as pleasures and pains, play a major role in many of the accounts of value that underlie moral theory (Singer 1975).



As with the What and How questions, the Why question poses a general problem that subdivides into a diversity of more specific inquiries. In so far the various sorts of consciousness, e.g., access, phenomenal, meta-mental, are distinct and separable—which remains an open question—they likely also differ in their specific roles and values. Thus the Why question may well not have a single or uniform answer.

Answer 5

Consciousness in the terms you are describing it is sometimes called the Freudian ego. As we develop our belief systems from a young age, we begin to conceptualize the mind and make meaning out of life. This is only one aspect of consciousness.



Consciousness and its totality is a vast array of capacities. The origin of consciousness is greatly disputed. As of today human beings have not been able to replicate consciousness. Although it has been idealized in many sci-fi movies that a computer can have consciousness. It's important to note that consciousness exists from a cell to a plant to an animal, to humans and even planets and solar systems. Consciousness itself is said to come from the source of all existence.

Answer 6

Consciousness is not a different thing, coming from somewhere.

You have a visible body and invisible consciousness. Similarly the universe also has visible physical world made of matter and energy, and invisible consciousness called Universal Consciousness.

Like water in ocean, consciousness exists everywhere spread in the entire universe. Physical body of universe including sun, moon, planets, stars, galaxies, mountains, rivers, trees, and all the living and nonliving things are created as a result of dynamism of the Universal consciousness, like tides, waves and bubbles getting created in ocean due to undercurrents.

The tides, waves, and bubbles in ocean are made of water, exist in water and merge back into water after completing cycle.

Similarly the universe created by consciousness, made of consciousness exists in consciousness and merges back into consciousness once the life cycle is completed.

Universal consciousness is the ultimate eternal truth existing in every atom of the universe and extending beyond, which is called Brahmam in Vedas.

Answer 7

Where did consciousness come from ?



Possibly it came from one-or-more of our senses interacting with another's

sense.

A sort-of-objective encounter which may have resulted in laughter or learning,as the case-may-be.

And I deliberately chose those 2 (post-conscious) actions because typically when our consciousness doesn't learn then it is liable to laugh instead.

Like when something is hard-to-believe, for example.



And although we may laugh at some consciousness or person for believing in a fantastic-but-fictitious thing like "induction", for example...nonetheless

other learning conscious minds may go on to better and better things...



...so critically forgetting that once we laughed at something best forgot ("induction").

Answer 8

Consciousness comes from you.

Answer 9

Consciousness comes from the middle of the Universe

Answer 10

A human being is just a robot made of flesh, bones, tissues etc., and a toy of the spirits for their games. Spirits are separate elements. A human being is not a single spirit. A human being during his/her life time is living with many spirits which have joined one by one since birth. They are knowledge, skills, feelings, emotions, interests and everything. Even thoughts are not your own. For example, when you want to take a decision on a subject, one after another the spirits think and you just listen, choose or reject the ideas which they transmit to your mind through your brain in the form of thoughts.



Consciousness is not coming from anywhere. It is always with us in the form of a spirit or invisible element. You can split the consciousness into several spirits. Each and every spirit work for their own interest, aim and desire. Each and every spirit expect that a human being must not to do any mistake in the matter of their aim and desire. It alerts and stop him from doing a mistake.

Answer 11

A new paper suggests that four specific, separate processes combine as a "signature" of conscious activity. By studying the neural activity of people who are presented with two different types of stimuli -- one which could be perceived consciously, and one which could not -- researchers show that these four processes occur only in the former, conscious perception task.

Answer 12

Each person is born with it. When your awake & you recognize everything, This is your consciousness working. When your asleep or just wide awake your subconsciousness is figuring out different problems that may acurr in your life. ( Without consciousness you dont exist.) Mike

Answer 13

Consciousness is an illusion

Answer 14

Consciousness comes or develops at different times for different people: "Windows to the Womb: Revealing the Conscious Baby from Conception to Birth" by Dr. David Chamberlain, "Soul Survivor" by Bruce Leininger, "The Reincarnation of Edgar Cayce?" by Free and Wilcock, and "The Path of the Higher Self" by Mark Prophet reveal progressive stages and states of conscious awareness.



Related: http://dreamstudies.org/2015/02/04/lucid-dreamers-have-bigger-brains-more-metacognition/ is an example of developing "integral awareness."

Answer 15

I think you are talking about being self aware. I have never had children but I can remember losing a diaper because my mother was upset it stained the floor. I was pretty young. But I can remember visiting my sister and they pretty much raised one of their grandchildren. He was really a sweetie and won a beauty contest for best personality. Each time I would come down, he wouldn't remember me so we would start our relationship all over. I would visit about every six months and finally the time came when I arrived and he ran out the door shouting my name. That was so sweet. I realize this is a bit different but I think when he became aware of himself, he then became aware of who others were. It's all part of growing up.

Answer 16

You're concious in the womb the only issue is that we don't remember because we have no reference point, learning to speak is a pain as it's about making the correct noises with our mouths which have to grow from nothing so being able to communicate takes a while however yes all concious including disbled (as I was when born).

Answer 17

If by consciousness you are refreeing to humans having self awareness. This is something that we have received from our creator. In Genesis 1:27 we read " And God went on to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them" Notice that in the scripture it mentions man was created in God's image. This was not a physical image because God is not a physical being, but rather when the scriptures mention we were made in God's image it is referring to our ability to manifest his qualities. Being self aware or having consciousness is one of the ways that we are created in God's image.

Answer 18

Atman-anatman

Abyss-veil

Eternity-temporality

Well anyway Joseph Campbell and Douglas Hofstadter are great reads for modern westerners on the subject

Answer 19

It comes a network of chemicals and electricity within your brain. All in a specific complex order though. Your brain connections are organized in a lattice structure, which allows us to do many things at once, which add up to thinking or knowing what something is when you look at it. Our brains use different patterns of electricity to do different things. All of these brain cells linked together is called the connectome.

Answer 20

Your fetus brain is concerned with reflexes, newborn brain makes connections by the billion, a critical mass of neural connections is made at 3-4 and you realize that you are a separate thing among many things.



Yes a computer will hit critical mass and notice itself.

Answer 21

Good parents teach children the difference between right and wrong at a very early age through reward and punishment. Freud referred to the conscience as the Super Ego the little policemen in the head.

Answer 22

Douglas Hofstadter describes consciousness as a feedback loop. We revisit and idea so many times that it becomes "me" instead of "it".

Answer 23

Mind

Answer 24

No one knows for sure. Usually as the brain develops a conscience is developed. However, if brain damage or a traumatic event occurs, then the conscience can be greatly eroded.

Answer 25

Emma-ya, a planet near Sirius.

Answer 26

It is your soul, of course. Inside every human is a moral compass, which tells him when he's in the right or the wrong. It's God's way of saving you from bad.

Answer 27

It means an awakened state of being. Like when you slam your hand in a car door. You know.

Answer 28

Your body's

Answer 29

There is no where, such is an idea of consciousness.

Answer 30

Within ourself.

Answer 31

Comes from a diet rich in breast milk.

Answer 32

It came from the need to survive. To avoid pain mostly and attract pleasure.

Answer 33

most people do not remember things from before they were 3

Answer 34

The transcendental Creator

Answer 35

It comes from the center of your brain.

Answer 36

Simple ... just chemical reaction in the brain

Answer 37

this very complex and many a great mind will tell you it is not understood nor explainable....

Answer 38

Are you so sure it 'came' from somewhere?

Answer 39

Coffee .

Answer 40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=475RIRXYifc

Answer 41

mind, heart

Answer 42

No

Answer 43

it is from god