Re: Is consciousness real?

From: <hal.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 12:08:10 -0800

James Higgo writes:
> Consciousness - a flow of related thoughts in time - does not exist, any
> more than time itself exists. All that exists of 'you' is this very present
> thought.
>
> This simple view solves all known paradoxes of consciousness, fits with what
> we know of the world, and is, incidentally, in concord with Buddhist
> philosophy. You can even be happy if you believe it; believing it forces you
> to live in the present.

This solves all the problems, does it? What about the question of
whether something, say an animal or a fetus, is conscious or not?
Should I treat conscious and unconscious entities the same?

And if consciousness doesn't exist, does that mean suffering doesn't
exist either? Should we not care about slavery, torture and other
institutions that cause human suffering?

I think you have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Hal
Received on Wed Jan 17 2001 - 12:25:14 PST