Dr. Susan Blackmore explores the nature of consciousness:
Am I conscious now?
Of course I am. Yes, I am conscious now.
Am I conscious now?
Of course I am. Yes, I am conscious now.
But something odd happened. When I asked myself the question it was as though I became conscious at that moment. Was I not conscious before? It felt as though I was waking up – coming to consciousness when I asked the question – because I asked the question.
What is going on? (Calm down. Take it slowly.)
I can remember what was happening just before I asked the question, so it seems that someone must have been conscious. Was someone else conscious a moment before – as though the waking up is a change in who is conscious? It certainly didn’t feel as though it could have been me because I just woke up, but surely it wasn’t anyone else, for who else could there be in here?
previously posted: The “grand illusion” of consciousness