Originally posted by Chonx
Is consciousness a result of biology or does it exist separately?
Here's the quick answer, which is irrefutable by theists and atheists alike — that is, nobody can successfully argue it.
The answer:
The entire Universe is conscious, including you. Therefore, consciousness exists both internally and externally.
The proof? Easy.
You are a "product" of the Universe. Everything about you is a
product of the Universe — the atoms that make up the molecules that
make up your fiendishly sophisticated biology were once nothing more than subatomic particles forged into atoms at the moment of Creation (the
Big
Bang or whatever you want to call it).
Your atoms have been recycled in clouds of nascent gases and dust between stars, in the cores of stars themselves, and right here on the planet Earth
countless times. Your atoms have probably comprised
many life forms over the ages. Your molecules have been recycled in everything
from simple microorganisms to plant life to apex predators.
This is all irrefutable by Science. It cannot be argued by Religion, either.
You are a PRODUCT of the Universe. Everything about you,
including your CONSCIOUSNESS, is no more and no less a product of
natural
forces that made the Universe what it is.
What you
are is what the Universe
IS.
Therefore... The Universe is
at least as
CONSCIOUS as
YOU are. If you accept that there are other, more advanced life forms in
the Universe, then the Universe is
at least as conscious as
THEY are.
The Universe is
capable of Consciousness, therefore, the Universe
IS conscious.
Of course, you can take that a step further and say that the Universe
has a sense of humor, and you'd be
correct. You could say the
Universe is
Sophisticated and
Barbaric and
Good and
Evil, and you'd
still be
correct.
Because all of these peculiarities are
PRODUCTS of the Universe. We are no more and no less the
products of this Universe, and there is
nothing within us that isn't also
OUT THERE.
So... Wonder no more. You share
everything in common with the Universe around you. Consciousness is both
within you and
outside of
you.
— Doc Velocity