(C)1995 Lee Kent Hempfling All Rights Reserved When you stare at a moving object for a while then transfer your attention to a stationary object it appears to move as well. Science has been observing a result of consciousness all along, while the cause has gone unnoticed. What is consciousness? Now that will bring debate at your next cocktail party. We get our examination of it from "Understanding That Which Does The Understanding". "From the scientific observation of man's knowing that he knows yet not knowing how to the uniquely religious concept of free will permitting a man to destroy himself by his own choices of belief, the concept of consciousness is far from being universally defined. There is the subconscious level of actions we take in instant response to outside stimuli and the conscious response we make to an internal decision based in internal motivation. Are they the same? Does the involuntary yanking of a hand from the flame entail the same consciousness definition as the placing of the hand in the flame? Does the brain's process involve levels of action or does the whole as observed by a relative position of freedom require definition based in only the observation? There is no reason to assume that we need to arrive at an agreeable definition of consciousness in order to further discuss it here. The discussion will arrive at it's own definition. The answers to these questions will be self evident. The awareness of how we know will be in relation to the ability to know, that we know at all. The Sub Conscious Brain: It's a term used routinely to describe those things we do and those things we think about that do not require or stem from a decision to think about them. It is the process that takes place in the background of our minds. That second voice, so deep in there that it seems to sometimes not be there yet just will not shut up. The reason a totally blank mind is not possible. The sub conscious denotes less than the conscious. The conscious denoting then the intended outcome brought about by an intended action. In reality it's both unintended and quite intended. That which we perceive to be subconscious activity is in fact the brain's first level of memory interacting with it's counterpart in new input. We see. Yet we also perceive. They are not the same thing. The sight takes place through the input of the eye's receptors. The perception takes place in the comparison of that input with previous input. It's that first step at making sense out of the outside world. The activity takes place in all of the senses and results in our initial awareness of the existence of other things. The operative word being 'other'. This is as far as is needed for most living creatures. All they need to be aware of is the presence of the 'other' creature. There is no need to be aware of their own presence. There is no need for a cow to be aware of itself. It is aware of other cows and through that awareness takes it's place in cow society without difficulty as it can not and does not vie for a greater position among cows. All are perceived to be 'other than' and therefore equal to. The subconscious is directly linked to the motor functions of the living creature and results in actions being taken based upon acquired behavior and acquired input. The result is then assumed by man as all encompassing instinct as it does not consider the host creature in the action. So it would not in us either if there was not the second level of consciousness. The Conscious Brain: As inputs are directly effecting outputs in the subconscious in relationship to that which is perceived as being 'out there', the second level of consciousness, the conscious brain is busy evaluating that action. Humans have the unique ability to evaluate the action based upon the awareness of self as well as the awareness of the 'other' creatures. Inflicted with only the awareness of self results in being totally self consumed and a person who does not consider others. A fete not possible in the lower animal species. In the conscious brain the result of that first memory's comparison to input which has been sent to the second or mid level memory is compared with the third level of memory which is then compared in the same process with it's own result in a tap dance act of grand proportions. The ability to be self aware and therefore capable of original thought and original curiosity based in perceived and potential outcome and the ability to assume based upon previous untested input is brought about by a simple and logical progression of the human brain's processed data. From input receptor (the senses) to the first comparator and on to the second memory the data is then compared to the third memory and the result sent to the third memory. It's that simple, yet that complicated. It happens in such a fashion for each input receptor all at the same time, staggered by a clocking assignment sequence order and overlapped with senses from the same type. And...out pops the question... why? A concept unknown to any other form of living creature. Why. There is not a dog alive with the slightest interest in why a bone would be enjoyable. There is not a cat in the entire universe with the slightest interest as to whether or not it's tail was sticking out from under a rocking chair and why your computer can't tell it's a cat. Cats are curious but only about what is. Not about why something is. It is precisly the 'why' of issues that gets the cat. Not the curiosity of what. The concept of free will, the concept of a man's ability to make his own choices is a result of the awareness of self and the ability to ask and be conditioned by the answer to 'why?'. Consciousness then......what is it? It's a two fold process, both of which act together to form a single perceived output of consciousness. The sub conscious and the conscious, each with it's own duties, functions and actions and reactions working together in no other creature except man to control his life. To give him the ability to answer the question 'why' as well as ask it. For to ask it requires the ability to answer. One can not be without the other. Yet one can obscure the other. As it has. Consciousness then is also a result. A result of the logical process of the brain. The human brain." So regarding our interest in optical illusions? What the eye sees is compared to long term memory and the result is awareness of the 'other' existence. That comparison is sent to mid term memory where it is then compared to short term memory. The result of that is sent to short term memory. So when one takes one's eye off of a moving object and focuses on a stationary object a comparison of that moving object's short term memory is compared to the direct input of the stationary object and we see it move. That is, until the short term memory is cleared and the current vision is dominating comparison. Optical illusion. A result of the result of consciousness. It's the same basic process that has caused man to avoid knowing about the brain,.... at all. But it's not so illusionary when the process that creates it is understood.
