Consciousness and self-awareness in philosophy are complex concepts with which many problems are associated. Yes, today this science can really give answers to many questions, but the problem of consciousness is still a mystery that cannot be so easily discovered.
Consciousness in philosophy is a combination of mental and sensory images. Perception is the basis of consciousness. Five senses help people navigate the world. Perception is a process deployed in time. Only at the moment when it turns into an image, we begin to perceive reality. Some philosophers believe that this very image is consciousness. The process of forming such an image is the process of isolating oneself from the outside world. Having received the image, a person gains the ability to distinguish himself in that world. Which is around him. Contrasting is the beginning of self-awareness.
Consciousness in Philosophy
Many great people reflected on its essence. The philosophy of consciousness is complex. Today, philosophers are only certain that:
- consciousness actually exists;
- it has an ideal nature. It is important to note that this provision is even recognized by materialists, although they believe that matter is still the basis of ideal consciousness.
Philosophy, in which consciousness is an important issue, offers various approaches. Physicalism is one of them. This approach is extremely materialistic. According to him, there is no such independent substance as consciousness, since it is merely a product of matter. The essence of consciousness can be explained using physics.
Solipsism is another extreme approach to solving the problem of consciousness. Its essence is that the consciousness of any individual is the only reliable reality. The material world is simply a product of this consciousness.
Between the approaches described there is objective idealism, as well as moderate materialism. The first recognizes that consciousness is associated with matter, but still is the root cause. In the second case, consciousness is recognized as a unique manifestation of matter, which allows it to reflect itself. In our country, this point of view is the most common.
Consciousness in philosophy cannot be explained only by the approaches described above. To understand the issue, additional points of view should be studied.
To the question of the origin of consciousness:
- the origin is cosmic;
- consciousness is absolutely all living organisms;
- only a person has consciousness.
The cosmic point of view is based on the fact that consciousness does not depend on material carriers. Consciousness is a gift of the cosmos or even God. In essence, it is indivisible. There are many theories based on this point of view.
The basic idea that the proponents of the biological point of view adhere to is that consciousness is inherent in all living organisms, as it is a product of living nature. The idea is based on the fact that:
- the life of any creature is not spontaneous, but passes in the power of some specific laws. There is nothing illogical and meaningless around;
- instincts exist not only inborn, but also acquired;
- all living things accumulate experience;
- animals are also able to perform complex actions;
- animals have a kind of "morality."
The aforementioned third point of view says that consciousness is inherent only to man - animals possess exclusively instincts.
Consciousness in philosophy is an important issue that is unlikely to ever be fully revealed. The human mind is something limited, but constantly evolving, and it seeks to understand everything that is reality.