If you suddenly awoke from a deep sleep to inexplicably find yourself embarked on a train journey, destination unknown, you'd probably be startled and wonder "Where the hell am I and how did I get here?" Seems an obvious reaction, right? You wouldn't merely open your eyes and gaze out of the carriage window as though you expected to find yourself in transit like it was the most natural thing in the world, would you?
In contrast, when fully-functioning consciousness (i.e. sequential thought and memory) first dawns within us as children and we become able to recognise our surroundings and the people around us (when we 'wake up' in other words), we simply take it in our stride and don't seem in any way surprised or perturbed by the situation. Not until much later do we start asking philosophical questions about why we're here and where we're going in this unplanned (at least from our perspective) journey we call 'life'. Yet, essentially, the two situations are the same - so why such different reactions in each case?
This has always puzzled me, as has the fact that when we first become 'aware', we have no sense of never having existed - nor do we have one of having a specific beginning. It's as if, in some mystical, magical, inexplicable way, we've always been - and that we always will 'be'. Life soon enough erodes the gossamer foundations supporting the illusion of immortality - at least as far as the physical goes.
As for the 'spiritual', I'd like to think that my consciousness will somehow survive the expiration of my physical body, but a nagging doubt assails me. You see, our conscious selves give every indication of being inextricably bound to our physicality, and seemingly entirely interdependent. Therefore, since that which we regard as the 'soul' (personality, individuality, etc.,) doesn't appear to exist separately before birth, why should it continue to exist on its own after death?
'Tis said that it's better to travel hopefully than to arrive (to paraphrase Robert Louis Stevenson) - but if hope should disembark at an earlier stop, the remaining miles can make the trip a lonely one. And what awaits us at the end of the journey?
I wish I could supply you with some profound and constructive conclusions to my meandering musings, but I find myself ill-equipped for the task. If you have any pertinent observations you'd like to make on this subject, the comments section awaits your input.
Spookily, Kid, I've recently been thinking about these very subjects. There must be a moment as an embryo when awareness begins - it must be like a lightbulb coming on or something but how does the embryo react at that first moment of consciousness ? Is it scared or does it just accept its' surroundings as if they have always existed ? As for the soul, I don't believe in such a thing so there's nothing to survive death but I admit it is hard to think of our minds as just a cluster of atoms and chemicals - but consciousness can only exist in a living brain.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that consciousness suddenly switches on like a lightbulb, CJ - I suspect it's more like a small, glowing ember gradually becoming brighter, but it's a mystery I suppose. I'd like to think that consciousness can survive beyond the demise of a human brain, but that's more hope than belief.
ReplyDeleteKid, why would you want your consciousness to survive death ? What's the point of awareness without a body ? And how long would you want this state of affairs to last for - forever ? That's what baffles me about people who believe in heaven - even if their consciousness could survive death what exactly would they do in heaven anyway - there would be no physical objects to pass the time, no computers, TV etc and there'd be no pleasures of the flesh or food and drink to enjoy so what would they do in heaven FOR ALL ETERNITY ??? They really haven't thought it through properly. Heaven ? It sounds like an eternal hell to me. The ancient Greeks believed that the souls of the dead wandered aimlessly as shadows in the Underworld forever and that sounds like a far more realistic image of consciousness surviving death than the idealistic Christian heaven. I'd rather have the bliss of eternal oblivion.
ReplyDeleteActually, CJ, I have to be honest and say that I don't think YOU'VE thought it through properly, because you seem to have an unsophisticated view of the concept of 'Heaven' (as do many people). Does it exist? No one can say for sure one way or the other, because one would have to know absolutely everything before one could pronounce on the subject with any authority. Primitive people used primitive language which their listeners or readers would understand, but the idea they were trying to convey was simply this:
ReplyDeleteThere exists a state, or condition, or 'existence' of some kind which transcends the one we now know. If you're saying that what we now know is all there is to be known, and that the state of existence we now enjoy is the only one we can ever experience, well, while you may well be right, equally, you may well be wrong, and your thinking seems to be limited by the confines of your current condition. Science would never have made its many technological advances if scientists hadn't dared to think, even dream, outside of the box and had let the apparent 'certainty' of how things appeared to be imprison them within the world's perceived limited possibilities.
If you really can't acknowledge the possibility of something better than we now experience, then, without meaning to sound condescending, I sort of feel sorry for you. You're trapped in a prison of your own making, and life without the hope of something greater seems, ultimately, pointless. There is perhaps a state of serene consciousness where one's continued existence is immensely fulfilling, and reward enough. There's a Stan Lee & Steve Ditko story on my other blog, called 'I used to be...Human!' Read it - and understand. Incidentally, oblivion and bliss are mutually exclusive, I'd venture - philosophically speaking.