Levels of Consciousness

Levels of Consciousness

Consciousness is a commonly used word; however, we never stop to think about exactly who and what we ascribe consciousness to. Consciousness can be defined as being aware of oneself against the surroundings. In my personal world, consciousness is predominantly held by living entities that have the ability to learn and remember, while unconscious objects are nonliving and cannot learn or remember. It is commonly agreed that there are two main categories: conscious and unconscious. However, it is important to take a look at the possible levels of consciousness. For me, what sets higher levels of consciousness apart from lower levels of consciousness is personality, compassion, and goals.

First of all, most people will agree that humans are conscious. I am aware of myself. Very frequently, I find myself baffled by how my brain can wonder about itself. Instead of being in a sea of people, I somehow have a sense of self and can feel unique against millions of other people. My brain allows me to have memory, learning, experience, and personality. I learn new information each and everyday. That information is then committed into memory. The memories intertwine together to create experiences, and finally, my personality is the result of my memories and experiences. For example, I found that I was better in singing and acting than I was with sports. As a result, I tended to participate in the arts more than sports. Today, I describe my personality as more artsy than athletic.

Furthermore, humans are also capable of compassion. Compassion is visible in the efforts to help other people, animals, or things. When someone carrying a large, heavy box comes towards the door to exit the room, my natural impulse is to hold the door open for the person. If I see a stray dog on the street, I immediately worry about its well-being and wonder where its home is. When I see cigarette butts lying on the grass, I pick them up to throw away.

Although all living beings have a purpose in life, most humans have missions beyond the basic goal of survival. This, I believe, marks the highest level of consciousness. Besides the basic needs of eating and sleeping, I have other goals, such as finishing school, or learning how to bake. These goals are either recreational or are necessary for a feeling of self-fulfillment.

Then there is a lower level of consciousness. Many qualities from the higher level of consciousness are found here, but some are absent. There is learning, memory, and experience, but personality is not developed. For example, a fish is a living creature, but its main concern is simply survival and it shows no compassion for the hand that feeds it. Even so, I still enjoy feeding fishes. At this lower level of consciousness, we do not expect to receive anything in return. However, I continue feeding them because I feel responsible for their well-being; they are harmless and living animals.

Some animals fall into higher level of consciousness, but some also fall into the lower level. When looking at whether or not animals have high or low levels of consciousness, I decide by looking