source: Pixabay
This idea that we are but a tiny part of something greater than ourself, that the universe in fact is a large system of integrated parts, is at least as old as mankind. The truth of this can be seen in old sayings like "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." If we start small, we know that electrons and protons are negatively and positively charged particles that form atoms. Groups of atoms form mini-systems called molecules. Molecules are organized in organisms, which in turn are parts of societies and ecosystems. These reside on planets (or at least one that we know of) that revolve around suns in solar systems that revolve around the hearts of galaxies...
You might say that the above proves nothing special, as we're just talking about interactions between physical parts and systems, merely the laws of action and reaction. So let's try and take it a step further, and see if there's any way we could argue for the existence of some sort of universal consciousness. To do that, we first have to define consciousness. Science is helpful here and gives us a free hand by not having a single, universally accepted definition of "mind" or consciousness ;-)
In previous posts I've already hinted at the existence of plant-consciousness, and have defined consciousness as the ability to perceive the environment and react to changes in that environment in a way that makes sense for the organism's survival. We know that plants actively seek for sources of water and food with their roots. Their leafs turn toward sunlight and they communicate with insects by releasing chemical substances, both for defensive and procreation purposes; if these aren't the behaviors of conscious actors, I don't know what is.
Let's delve even deeper into this particular rabbit hole by talking bacteria. These microscopic creatures also signal each other to perform group activities to defend or promote disease or regulate their population. We also know that many species of bacteria live inside us, mainly in our digestive systems. Now if we take their kind of awareness about their environment and the resulting behavior as a form of consciousness that makes sense to them in their world, we can rest assured they won't be aware of the greater conscious organism, us, they live inside. Do you start to see where this is going yet?
Are roses part of a universal consciousness?
Image by Nicolas Raymond - source: Flickr
Let's take an electron; its world consists of electromagnetism and the only thing it has to do is avoid other electrons and sometimes stay with a group of protons. Well, other electrons will be repelled when too close as they're all negatively charged, so avoiding other electrons is no problem. Protons are positively charged, so staying with them is also easy; these elemental particles need to be conscious of almost nothing at all for their level of awareness, if we postulate any, to make sense in their world.
We are one with our mobile phones. I know this is true, and so do you. I've seen people literally lose their mind when their mobile got lost or stolen. You know why? Because they did! They did lose at least part of their mind when their mobile phone seized to be part of their world. My mobile has literally become an extension of my mind; stuff I used to do in my mind now is taken care of by my mobile. I used to know all phone numbers of my friends by heart, I used to have to talk to other people to find my way around a city I've never visited before, and I used to remember all birthdays myself; I think maybe I will lose my mind to if the thing gets lost...
This idea of one-ness is as old as mankind, it's one of our oldest truths, and I for one believe in it. Although none of this is scientifically proven or even talked about much, and even if I love science and love thinking and writing about it, it would be wrong to think something is only true if and when science has proven it to be true. If there's one thing science does, it's that it evolves constantly, just like everything else. It's not as if atoms didn't exist before science proved their existence...
I'll stop here and leave you with a TED talk by Professor of Philosophy David Chalmers, who is best known for formulating the "hard problem" of consciousness and for his arguments against materialism. He discusses my last point about our mobile phones being or becoming part of our mind. The only thing I ask is for you to replace "I-Phone" with "Mobile phone" each time he says I-Phone ;-)
The above is a slightly redacted version of a post I originally published on Steemit in October 2018.
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