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In Ross Andersen’s What the Crows Know, he talks about the concept of consciousness and the blatant lack of understanding humans have of it. I found this to be tremendously interesting and is something I often contemplate myself. Andersen calls consciousness “the final frontier” of science which, considering the current state of affairs in the scientific realm, appears to be an apt assessment. What I found especially interesting to think about was the sociological dynamic between one’s own consciousness and that of someone else. Everyone lives unique, diverse lives filled with different significant events, interests, opinions among an enormous variety of tangible variables that can affect someone’s life. All of these different factors can still be somewhat comparable to others to a certain degree, yet more often than not, people seem to have little to no sympathy or even acknowledgement for other people’s lives. Perhaps it is because humans are cynical by nature and this dynamic is unavoidable, but could a more altruistic societal relationship be a feasible change? It is hard to say definitively, and I am certainly not equipped to be making baseless assumptions. Nevertheless, I would like to believe humans are capable of adapting a cultural standard similar to that of Jainism.
Andersen also describes how some philosophers believe that consciousness is a form of energy not dissimilar from time or space. I find this idea to be terrifically interesting with titanic potential if humans are able to develop a more accurate understanding of consciousness. What limits are there? Can it be manipulated? It is a curious subject, and one I hope can be further explored in the future.
