[AdvaitaToZen] Notes On Consciousness

[Guest guest]

On Apr 28, 2006, at 12:57 PM, Wim Borsboom wrote:

 

> AdvaitaToZen , Pete S <pedsie5 wrote:

> >

> > Valery at NDS wrote:

> >

> > Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

> >

> > P: That stroke me as partly true. If it were 100%

> > awful, or 100% bliss, would that content remain

> > conscious long? Consciousness needs change,

> > yet longs for immutability, and there lies the rub, or

> > the annoyance.

>

> That 100 % bliss (any amount of bliss actually) is realized in

> direct AWARENESS though - not consciousness.

>

> It behoves us to distinguish between the meaning of consciousness

> and awareness. " A-ware-ness " has to do with ver-acity or... dharma

> (truth). The Sanskrit root of dharma 'DHA' over time became 'VAR',

> which later became 'wahr' in German, 'vrai' in French and ended up

> as 'ware' in awareness and 'ver' in veracity.

>

> Consciousness is what arises when separation has taken one away

> from - how did Greg say it? - " It's holistic, globality... "

> (Whatever " It " is :-) That's why 'consciousness' contains the

> prefix 'con', expressing that there is an assumed separation between

> parts that consciousness attempts to bridge.

>

> Awareness is 'already aware' prior to consciousness. Consciousness

> is not present in direct-awareness-per-se. Consciousness though may

> remember moments or stretches of direct awareness.

>

> I have come to see consciousness as a reconstructive tool of

> awareness (to deal with what you call " awful " ) and awareness as a

> sort of tool of 'I'. I do not see consciousness as an a priori. (Nor

> actually do I consider awareness to be such.) In any case,

> consciousness cannot be an a priori as it connects two somethings

> prior to it... whatever those 'priors' are.

>

>

 

Hi Wim,

 

Your post is very interesting. I love it when you

talk dirty (meaning about brain processes) )

 

But, let's keep in mind, that talking about a

distinction between consciousness and awareness

is really talking about words, rather than sensations

in the brain. How could I possibly match that word

to a sensation in my brain that would be the same one

that you labeled so in yours?

 

Nevertheless, when you say: " Awareness is 'already

aware' prior to consciousness " that strikes a bell, in

the sense that, information processing happens at

an inorganic level. So if by awareness you mean

the ability of a system to act on information, I fully

agree. If by awareness, as different from consciousness,

you mean a sensation in my head, then I am not sure

what you meant. That word is not as translatable, as say,

toothache.

 

Again, when you say: " I have come to see consciousness

as a reconstructive tool of awareness (to deal with what

you call 'awful') " that makes a lot of sense to me because

I see consciousness as evolving primarily as a pain ( danger)

detector, which later started detecting other life enhancing

signals such as light and sound and much later pleasure,

emotions, and even later, in humans, thoughts such

as this.

 

Pete