I have sat for hours pondering the fact of consciousness. Do animals have consciousness? Do they make decisions like us? Do we have free will? How is it that dreams seem so real when you're in them, yet when you wake up you realize some of the things in your dream are impossible? Is Consciousness real?

Answer these questions and post your here.

Is this real life? Why does it happening?
sorry i had too.

anywho, Those are some quite big questions.

I belive them sone animals do have onsciousness. My little dog does feel guilt, so im quite sure she think befor she act {even if she act stuipedly from time to time}. She know that she need to be affraid when there is alarm {she run to the shelter room by herself, even wake us up if we dont hear it}. If you will put in front of her a full corn and a dog food, she will eat first the corn {she just love them, its so funny how she eat them}. And she didnt got trained even after some hard work {she jsut looked at us like "are you ok peoples?" and find something better to do}.

We have free will. You can decide to becaome a leader of a nation or a famus doctor or a saint. you can aslo decide to be a serial killer if you want, or a raper. Sure, most of these peopels are draged into it, from mental ills to childhood traumas. But you can choose. the only problme is to make it happen.

Why does ice pops taste like fruits even that there are no fruits in there? same answer to the dream question. Its all about fooling your brain. Like you have deja-vo when you hear a song or even see a part in a tv series or play a spesific scene in a game, and you are sure you have already did it.
Its like when you read a book and you are very into it. Every thing in the book logic seem to be... logic. Come on harry! do this magic! Come dynarise! use the dragon breath! Its look so real when you are "inside" it, but when you finish reading, you know its unrealistic. But isnt it more fun that way?

No. I AM A ROBOT. bip bip bip.
But realy, hard question. As we all know, we are basicly a gang of cells and organisms that groups up to survive. Maybe its all chemistry, hormons and Chemicals. But yet, it created such a marvelous machin that i can sit here in 00:55 am and write this all out, just because i feel i have too. Because i enjoy it, writing from the heart.

thank you for reading :)

Every thing in the book logic seem to be... logic. Come on harry! do this magic! Come dynarise! use the dragon breath! Its look so real when you are "inside" it, but when you finish reading, you know its unrealistic. But isnt it more fun that way?

I don't feel that books are like dreams but I do really get into books and I find myself thinking and having feelings fir the character(s) like they're my best friend or something.

i feel like everyone should at least consider this. [url=http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html]

Is this real life? Or is it just fantasy? I'm caught in a landslide...no escape from reality...

Sorry...had to do that

I believe I have a conscious...for I am quite aware of all that I do and have memory of doing so (save for things I do in my subconscious)

As for animals...I guess you could make an argument that certain religions don't believe animals have consciousness for they do not have souls...and apparently having a soul has correlation to having a conscious. As for me...I like to believe that animals do have a conscious. They seem to be quite aware of their actions and have a noticeable thinking process for most things they do, as well as having emotions. That is a pretty significant thing

Of course animals have consciousness. Have You even observed them closely, big percent of people nowadays don't even see wild animals, because of the urbanization. Animals on this planet have to struggle with life and death just like we do.

I believe I have a conscious...for I am quite aware of all that I do and have memory of doing so (save for things I do in my subconscious)

Speaking of that, sometimes when you remember something, Doesn't it feel like it never happened in your mind even though it did, Like when I remember posting this reply.

Could you give a precise definition of what you call "consciousness"?

To address some parts... Essentially, I think all living beings are no more than what they physically are. Consciousness in my eyes is just the interaction of all our neurological units, seemingly forming one discrete being although they're really modulary. Microbes, fungi and plants thus cannot possess a consciousness, as well as most animals that possess only simple nerve networks. Though I don't think that the attribution of a word like consciousness to a living being suddenly makes it special. Nor do I think that there's a clear border between both states. I think consciousness increases with neural complexity, that's all.

Resulting from that, I don't see us possessing "real" free will. We do what we please, of course, but are mostly controlled by myriads of factors, and ultimately, I'm convinced of a sort of probabilistic determinism. This is better illustrated using nerve signals, although it surely applies to even smaller scales. Nerves don't just fire a signal when needed and else sit still. There is always a basic activity, and activity may be increased or reduced by many factors. A signal is only fired when the activity surpasses a threshhold; thus influencing factors do not trigger a definite signal, but only increase the probability of a signal to be released in such an amount that most nerve cells will indeed most probably fire the signal. But it still leaves a chance that the signal might not be fired.

Could you give a precise definition of what you call "consciousness"?

Like you "being" you. Essentially just controlling everything you do and controlling your body.

Furthermore I have another question. Are we just a brain controlling a body? Why are we, "We"?

I think all living beings are no more than what they physically are.

Then answer me this. How come you are "you" and not some other person.

My definition of consciousness is like Self-Awareness, Or  just simply being.

Like you "being" you. Essentially just controlling everything you do and controlling your body.

I wouldn't call it a control mechanism so much as a perception mechanism. This the awareness of our surroundings, but more deeply the awareness of ourselves. We do this through a number of means.

Are we just a brain controlling a body? Why are we, "We"?

Is a computer just a hard drive controlling circuitry? Or is it all the parts working together and interacting with each other?

Like you "being" you. Essentially just controlling everything you do and controlling your body.

That definition would essentially be the brain, both conscious and unconscious nervous systems. I doubt that's what you meant.

How come you are "you" and not some other person.

I am who I am because of what I physically am, namely the unique genotype and phenotype resulting from genes and environment ("nature and nurture"). That's why I am not somebody else.