CONSCIOUSNESS
SUMMARY
1. Consciousness allows us to be aware of our surroundings and of our own inner state[1].
2. Philosophers and scientists struggle to define consciousness[2].
3. Our consciousness is likely to have evolved from less complex forms, as a product of evolution, likely emerging from several 100 million years sequence of micro-steps that together constitute a "gradient" of consciousness[3][4].
4. A living thing, or a self, is a part of the universe that sustains itself and makes more of its kind[5][6][7].
5. The original function of consciousness was probably to direct a mobile self that was short of energy to a fresh supply of food[8].
Reference(s)
- ↑ Plato.stanford.edu. 2021. Consciousness (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 December 2021].
- ↑ Koch, C., 2018. What Is Consciousness?. Scientific American, 318(6), pp.60-64.
- ↑ GLASGOW, R., 2018. Minimal selfhood and the origins of consciousness. 1st ed. Würzburg: Würzburg University Press.
- ↑ Lewis, R., 2021. The Physical Evolution of Consciousness. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: [Accessed 20 December 2021].
- ↑ Ruiz-Mirazo, K., Peretó, J. & Moreno, A. A Universal Definition of Life: Autonomy and Open-Ended Evolution. Orig Life Evol Biosph 34, 323-346 (2004). Available at: <https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ORIG.0000016440.53346.dc>
- ↑ Nasa.gov. 2021. NASA: Life's Working Definition: Does It Work?. [online] Available at: [Accessed 20 December 2021].
- ↑ Krow, S., 2021. What Are the Ten Characteristics of Living Organisms?. [online] Sciencing. Available at: [Accessed 20 December 2021].
- ↑ Mashour, G. and Alkire, M., 2013. Evolution of consciousness: Phylogeny, ontogeny, and emergence from general anesthesia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(Supplement_2), pp.10357-10364."
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