Consciousness

Human consciousness is a puzzling phenomenon, and scientists are still striving to define and understand it. When scientists answer “What is consciousness?” their answer is often something like “We are not exactly sure.” Even the origins of the emergence of consciousness are seemingly a mystery. Some scientists theorize that it may have occurred 500 million years ago, while others staunchly espouse that it was much more recent. This implies that we are learning more about consciousness every day and unfolding the mystery of its meaning.     

For instance, when asked to define consciousness, Simon Blackburn (Cambridge University) responded, “I probably wouldn't try to approach it by definition. I think that is just going to be a can of worms.” This is due to the fact that consciousness is difficult to empirically study because it varies depending upon subjective perspective. As such, when attempting to apply a standardized definition or metric to consciousness, one is often met with ambiguity. 

Professor at Oxford Susan Greenfield loosely defines consciousness as “the inner subjective state that no one else can hack into.” Another definition of consciousness is an individual's awareness of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, memories, and surroundings. Although animals possess a form of consciousness, humans can be observed to possess a higher form of consciousness, which differentiates us. There are many implications involved in what distinguishes humans as the most conscious beings. To begin an understanding, one must look at consciousness from a plethora of different angles.