..question for atheists....???

[scalf]

[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]..ok, so i am sitting here thinking; but i am also aware that i am sitting here thinking..

what is it that is aware of the thinking: i.e. What is consciousness?

gl

[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Rolen]

You think, therefore you think you are aware you are thinking. If you didn't think, you wouldn't think you were thinking because you wouldn't be there to think it!

EDIT : Or is that just balls?

[toots]

Consciousness is that excuse we concoct to tie together all the random sensations, memories and impulses that slurp through our wetware.

[Chairman Wood]

What does this have to do with atheism?

[toots]

I think there's some rule that any post to the psychology forum has to have "christian," "god" or "atheist" in the title.

[Girchuck]

Consciousness is an illusion, a story made up by the brain to organize memories and make predictions about the actions of other humans easier. Consciousness is most useful for communication with others. It is an interface, constantly changing throughout life while maintaining the illusion of continuity. It separates you and "the others". It gives meaning to words I and mine. It is slow and cumbersome and resource-hungry. It takes a constant supply of glucose and oxygen in your blood and 40 million neurons to maintain. It needs to be switched off often, it usually fails in an emergency. It will not be fully understood by anyone who has it.

[jojobinks]

[ QUOTE ]
Consciousness is an illusion, a story made up by the brain to organize memories and make predictions about the actions of other humans easier. Consciousness is most useful for communication with others. It is an interface, constantly changing throughout life while maintaining the illusion of continuity. It separates you and "the others". It gives meaning to words I and mine. It is slow and cumbersome and resource-hungry. It takes a constant supply of glucose and oxygen in your blood and 40 million neurons to maintain. It needs to be switched off often, it usually fails in an emergency. It will not be fully understood by anyone who has it.

[/ QUOTE ]

good answer. did the op mean to imply that it was a gift from a benevelent creator? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[giddyyup]

recently watched the movie "what the bleep do we know" that deals with these and other spiritual questions as they relate to modern research into quantum physics. answers some of these questions and raises others, that are, seemingly, even more difficult than asking "what is consciousness".

enjoy.

[Bodhi]

Hook line and sinker. For the record, I'm agnostic.

In any case, the words "thinking" and "consciousness" have many uses. Don't get trapped into believing that there must be some kind of referent that these words designate uniquely.

Is he conscious now?
Are you conscious of what you're doing?
That's not in his consciousness.

Am I talking about the same thing in all of these cases?

[scalf]

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].. i guess i shoulda figgered answers like those given; but tell me: Whwere is the control center of the human brain?..

tia

gl

[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]