We've all felt the sense of how wondrous, how marvelous, how miraculous it is to be alive. To exist!
The definition of "alive" is something we've outsourced to biologists. And "existence" is in the domain of the philosophers.
But whether I'm technically "alive" or "existent," the situation I'm marveling about doesn't change one whisker. I experience something! And even when "experience" is fully outsourced to the neuroscientists, the marvel remains untouched. (Actually for most people it seems to be redirected. It's why we are trying to unravel the Big Bang and the evolution of life. These are pointing to the Fundamental Mystery.)
Of course, over the years, the wonder can dim. I'm probably not as exuberant about it as when I was a kid. Where did it go? The obvious answer is that I simply became accustomed to it. I'm sure I could even find the neural circuits responsible for the wonder and its dimming. Then I might use evolutionary biology to explain why this is a common characteristic amongst humans. And then I can be content that there was no real mystery at all; it was just a trick of genes and neurotransmitters.
The thing is though, consciousness is stateless. That's a computer term, here referring to the fact that consciousness isn't carrying around baggage (history; a state) telling it how to be or what to be conscious of. If I had a freshly minted consciousness and I fed it all the details of your current experience, it too would experience exactly what you are. It would feel exactly as old as you are, experience the same lack of wonder, and exactly the same reasons why the wonder had disappeared.
It seems like the external world is responsible for the dimming of our wonder, but what if it isn't so? What if the Original Miracle just keeps on keepin' on, ever fresh, waiting patiently for you to rediscover it?
The definition of "alive" is something we've outsourced to biologists. And "existence" is in the domain of the philosophers.
But whether I'm technically "alive" or "existent," the situation I'm marveling about doesn't change one whisker. I experience something! And even when "experience" is fully outsourced to the neuroscientists, the marvel remains untouched. (Actually for most people it seems to be redirected. It's why we are trying to unravel the Big Bang and the evolution of life. These are pointing to the Fundamental Mystery.)
Of course, over the years, the wonder can dim. I'm probably not as exuberant about it as when I was a kid. Where did it go? The obvious answer is that I simply became accustomed to it. I'm sure I could even find the neural circuits responsible for the wonder and its dimming. Then I might use evolutionary biology to explain why this is a common characteristic amongst humans. And then I can be content that there was no real mystery at all; it was just a trick of genes and neurotransmitters.
The thing is though, consciousness is stateless. That's a computer term, here referring to the fact that consciousness isn't carrying around baggage (history; a state) telling it how to be or what to be conscious of. If I had a freshly minted consciousness and I fed it all the details of your current experience, it too would experience exactly what you are. It would feel exactly as old as you are, experience the same lack of wonder, and exactly the same reasons why the wonder had disappeared.
It seems like the external world is responsible for the dimming of our wonder, but what if it isn't so? What if the Original Miracle just keeps on keepin' on, ever fresh, waiting patiently for you to rediscover it?
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