Yuval Noah Harari, whose writings I referenced in my last post, entitled, A Philosophy of Everything, tells us that technological advances in infotech and biotech are driving a de-coupling between consciousness and intelligence.

That sounds odd because we tend to think that the two, intelligence and consciousness, are one and the same, or at least closely linked.

Ah, but you see, they really aren’t.

The reason we tend to believe that they are is because thinking generally accompanies feeling, and vice versa. Even though we don’t really need the feeling, or emotion, of fear (or anger) for the intelligence of our brains to make our legs (or fists) move, we always seem to have that feeling anytime we come across some external stimuli that inspires a fight or flight response.

The geniuses of Silicon Valley are well aware of this de-coupling. They are well aware that intelligence can exist, and does in fact exist in the form of AI (artificial intelligence), completely divorced from the consciousness that seems only capable of being experienced by organic beings.

So, what’s the purpose of consciousness? Does it have any redeeming purpose whatsoever, or is just like background noise? Does the brain really need consciousness in order to do its work? The fact that there are millions of intelligent operations going on inside your body every moment, controlled by your brain, but without your being the least bit conscious of them, tends to suggest that it doesn’t.

In my post, A Philosophy of Everything, I offered the following vague statement of purpose for consciousness…

The philosophy of everything that I’m alluding to is one in which this higher level of consciousness, as the root of objective reality, is that which gives meaning to our existence. It is the tie that binds everything together, regardless of which stories we might have individually bought into. At this unifying level of consciousness we feel compassionate towards our fellow humans. We do not allow stories to distract us from our inherent commonality.

I also alluded to the fact that the obvious way most of us experience consciousness on a day-to-day basis is at the level of the ego, or the self. We become conscious at a very early age that we are separate from everything around us…of the dual role between subject and object.

Of course it is true, as Harari tells us, that science hasn’t the foggiest idea what consciousness is and even less why it is. So, anything I suggest in this post is, of course, completely unscientific…

Well, almost…

There are some weird things, some “spooky action at a distance”, if you will, that science has discovered about reality, that appears to perhaps be a function of consciousness. Some of this weird stuff even goes so far as to suggest that consciousness is the root of all reality.

You’ve probably heard about the famous “double-slit” experiment. But, if not, here’s a brief (and unscientifically crude) explanation…

Scientists fire particles (photons in the form of a beam) at a barrier with two vertical slits. Some of the particles go through one slit and some go through the other. This should project an expected stacked particle pattern onto the backdrop. However, the weird thing is that the resulting pattern is instead what is called an “interference pattern”, which is indicative of a wave function. It seems that the individual particles somehow go through both slits, as if they were waves rather than particles.

Now, if that weren’t weird enough, it gets even weirder. When the scientists place a detector in front of the barrier to monitor which slit the particles enter, the pattern changes. It becomes the normal pattern one would expect particles to exhibit, rather than the strange wave pattern.

Why in the world does this happen? Why would the act of measurement, requiring a conscious observer, cause the wave pattern to collapse?

No one has a clue…

The implication, however, is clear. The act of conscious observation seems to cause the particles to choose a certain form. And the implications of that are fairly profound for the role consciousness could play in the existence of our universe.

Not long ago a theoretical physicist turned surfer dude named Garrett Lisi came up with an alternative to “String Theory” he calls e8 Theory. Lisi strongly believes his e8 Theory to be a better candidate for a theory of everything that finally unites general relativity and quantum physics. Rather than attempt another crude explanation, I’ll suffice it to say for our purposes that others, specifically a group called the Quantum Gravity Research Group, have taken Lisi’s theory much deeper with their “Emergence Theory”, which suggests that consciousness could play the key role in forming the building blocks of reality.

Now, neither of these theories are anywhere close to being considered acceptable science, but the fact remains that science is more and more looking at the role consciousness plays in our reality.

My last post suggested, based largely on what Harari says in his books, that it’s the fictional layer of reality comprised of the stories we make up that’s motivating the ego to do its dirty work of separation (usually for self-preservation). And dirty it is as this separation has certainly caused much of the strife in our world.

And yet there seems to be this higher level of consciousness in which the duality of subject and object melts away. Many have experienced this higher level though psychedelic drugs, while others have achieved it via an intense practice of meditation.

The universal way consciousness tends to be felt by organic species is via pain and pleasure. In fact, we are buffeted about during our entire lives between these two polar opposites of consciousness…that is, until we discover that there is a way to rise above it. And maybe that’s exactly what consciousness beckons us to do.

You might be asking, how can I sit here and conjecture that consciousness could have such a purpose, or really any purpose at all?

I don’t know…and in fact I’m really just thinking out loud (and trying to inspire you to do that same) with these crazy posts…

However, it’s evident to me that consciousness does indeed permeate our reality. It is something we share. It is something that connects us and on that higher level of connection (what Ram Dass calls “loving awareness”) motivates profound compassion, one incarnate being towards another.

Perhaps then we should not be trying to ascribe a purpose for consciousness, but rather try to better understand the purpose and meaning it ascribes to us.

I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.

Max Planck