CONSCIOUSNESS

When an infant begins to grow in a women's womb almost the first shape it takes is that of a tiny oblong role with an arch. It is milky but translucent and you can see a dark spear starting at the top traveling part way down its length. This is the brain stem. The brains must develop ahead of the organs of the body it is to control. For instance, the brain must have the ability to control the heart's rhythm before the heart starts pumping. This is true of all body functions because they must all be controlled from within before an infant emerges outside the womb.

Our five senses, ears, eyes, nose, taste buds and senses of touch bring all information into our mind that comes from outside our body. As soon as the organ develops the mind makes contact and begins the process of understanding the meaning of the data it is receiving. The tiny partially developed brain hears its own heart beat, its mother's heart beat, sloshing water and a multitude of other sounds. It smells embryonic fluid, taste it also. It sees flashes of light sent out by the optic nerves. It feels motion and pressure as it kicks and thrashes about within the womb. All these exterior sensors pour their information into this developing brain. The brain must have the ability to process all this information. Stringing it into something it can recall and compare. Cataloging it into ideas it will use to understand new information.

From the moment of first contact with the outside world the brain has a miraculous transformation. This transformation is called consciousness. Consciousness is the ability to view, understand and react to the world around us. Consciousness is our awareness of ourselves.

All species with the ability to monitor and respond to their surroundings are conscious and aware of themselves. The ability to recognize and use something outside of you for your own benefit proves that you are aware of your existence. The test that a species must have the ability to recognize it's self in a mirror to be aware of its self is not valid. The fact that an intelligent species feels hunger and will feed itself is proof that it is aware of its existence.

However, humans do have a level of consciousness that no other intelligent species possess. It is called empathy. Empathy is not the ability to recognize ones self. It is the ability to view ones self from another's perspective. A dog can watch a chicken get its neck wrung, hear the chicken squawk, the cracking of bone and watch the death throes without mental turmoil. We relate, see ourselves in the animals' place, and feel the pain and torment. We have the ability to walk in another's shoes.

Our special skill of empathy gives humans the ability to tell right from wrong. Makes them seek justice and fairness. Allows them to share the joy others feel. However, it also makes them subject to sharing the pain and suffering of others because nothing worth having is free.