[MD] Consciousness (explained?)

[plattholden at gmail.com]

Hi All:

Opinions about the nature of consciousness continue to come in. 
Here's a brief summary of the latest contributions:

Pirsig: (previously) Consciousness is a biological selection 
mechanism operating within a background of awareness described 
as an "endless landscape."

Bo: Consciousness is a product of the S/O intellectual level which 
has emerged, as do the preceding levels, from a kind of 
nonintellectul awareness that Pirsig calls "Dynamic Quality."

Willblake2: Consciousness is the ground of being as described by 
Huxley, Eckhart and other proponents of the "perennial 
philosophy," but how this ground gets divided up to become one's 
personal consciousness is a mystery. 

Jan-Anders: Consciousness is a mirror of your unconscious 
thinking. You can also make a mirror of the mirror and a mirror of 
that mirror which can then become an madhouse of endless mirrors. 
To stay sane and be successful you need to focus on the path at 
your feet laid down by others.

Joe: Consciousness is a one of the levels of an individual's being 
created by and proper to society. Other levels of  one's being (such 
as visions and dreams)  are individually created. Responsibility rests 
on the individual being for himself, society, truth and goodness. 

Ham: Consciousness is the ground of being to the extent that value-
sensibility is the ground of being-aware. Consciousness is a finite 
derivative of Sensibility which, in Essence, is indistinguishable from 
Awareness (consciousness) or Value. ( Note: Ham tends to use his 
own vocabulary and capitalization which I find impossible to 
summarize in my own words.)

One thing stands out in my mind -- the difficulty in sorting out the 
meanings of "consciousness," "personal consciousness," 
"unconsciousness," "awareness," "sensibility," and in Pirsig's 
vernacular, "pure experience" and "Quality." Toss  in Pirsig's 
"intuition," "mystic awareness" and "morality" and you've got a 
pretty how-de-do

Personally I view consciousness along the lines of  Ham's "value 
sensibility" (without Ham's metaphysics) or, as I prefer, "aesthetic 
sensibility." I also think of such sensibility as the ground of being 
and creator of the world. Since we are part of that creation, we 
have access to it by means of our brain and nervous system. Thus, 
rather than consciousness stemming from either mind or matter, it 
is both simultaneously,  like language is simultaneously means 
(sounds or letters) and meanings.  
 
Again if I've misrepresented anyone, my apologies in advance.

Regards,
Platt. 

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