Observatio

In that same realm, it’s fascinating to wonder whether consciousness is nothing but a biochemical accident in the first place. Living things, over eons, gradually became more complex so that their moment-to-moment actions were not automatic, like a one-celled organism’s, and their survival came to depend on an awareness of themselves in the environment. You can see how evolution would have favored individuals that had the biochemical advantage of, for instance, being able to detect changes in light or temperature, which would help them find food more easily or avoid predatory organisms and other dangerous thingys. Eventually, the more advanced these biochemical systems became, the more aware some species became. Is consciousness, the way we humans understand it, just a terrifically advanced level of awareness?

The kicker is that an advanced awareness of ourselves in the environment has also given us an awareness of mortality, self, time, and space. We have come to see ourselves as the reason the universe exists -- the ultimate subject -- which is probably a mistake of enormous magnitude. Instead, what if our consciousness is really just part of a larger system? We might be like the leaves on a tree, collecting energy and feeding something larger that we can’t perceive. Or we might be sensors, our consciousness a means of transmitting information back to a central brain or intelligence undetectable because we are too small or too close. (We’re soaking in it!)

You can’t be much of a narcissist when you contemplate this stuff.