These last days I have been discussing consciousness. I really like to discuss that. What is consciousness, how is it created, are animals conscious? Just one of my favorite subjects to discuss.
But also one of the most difficult ones. Because in order to discuss something we need consciousness itself. We need some level of consciousness to be able to discuss something.
So maybe it is an idea to look at discussions instead of at consciousness itself. And instead of exploring if there are different kinds of consciousness, to see if there are different kinds of discussions.
First there are discussions that just can interact about everything. Using the language we learned at schools, got from books and read in the newspaper. We can discuss the weather, discuss what is happening in the world and so on.
At that point no one needs strong opinions, just use what we learned, heard or just read somewhere. All that needs is information that we got delivered in packages by others.
Lets call the consciousness that is needed for this kind of discussions consciousness A.
The second kind of discussions are those that DO involve opinions. I will call the consciousness that is needed for that kind of discussion consciousness B.
If there is as discussion that involves opinions, there immediately emerges an huge problem. Where does that opinion come from. As long as we define it clearly as being an opinion it does not have to be a problem.
But the biggest problem with opinions is that people have the idea that their opinion has a certain truth to it. Which might make this kind of discussions, the ones with consciousness B, very heated at times. Because at some point they touch upon the worldview of the participants.
And have no other way then getting stuck at some point.
So this is where consciousness C comes in. Which I would call ego consciousness. Which is different from the other forms because it can not leave out personal experience.
It is a consciousness where the individual combines internal and external information, personal experience with universal knowledge.
So maybe that asks for a fourth kind of discussion, lets call that a discussion with consciousness D, a discussion that seperates universal and personal knowledge, but does not find one more important than the other.
Just uses other measurements to value both.
Related posts:
- Debate or Dialogue
- Creating my own Webspace
- Blogging with Discussion
- Collective Sharing of Individual Knowledge
- Critical about Criticism
