AN ATTEMPT TO ANALYZE CONSCIOUSNESS

The materialists maintain that consciousness is identical with brain activity. But the only way that they can assert this identity is by being conscious of it. If they argue that brain activity is conscious of itself, they still must admit that the brain activity has produced a power of revelation of itself. Since consciousness always proceeds in only one direction; that is, consciousness always objectifies its object and the object never objectifies consciousness, then consciousness must be that power that reveals the existence of brain activity. This means that consciousness, even if only produced by brain activity, must be a real entity within itself since it alone holds the power of revelation. But this power of revelation also holds another curious power. This power of revelation can objectify itself, revealing itself to itself. This is self-consciousness. But this reality of self-consciousness also means that the power of revelation must continuously retract itself from itself in order to objectify itself. This also means that consciousness can never be analyzed because it never reveals itself to itself as being a whole or as having parts. It only reveals itself to itself as that necessary power of revelation that makes reality possible, and that is all. However, this power of self-consciousness that causes it to continuously retreat from itself seems to mean that it has some connection to infinity.

The materialists might counter this analysis with the argument that this supposed reality of a self-consciousness that retreats toward infinity is but mere illusion. However, an illusion is always unreal and equal to nothing. If consciousness always moves in one direction; that is, consciousness is the power of revelation of its object, then even if brain activity is identical with consciousness, then it must be by means of this consciousness that brain activity is revealed and not the opposite way. Thus, even the materialists must admit that the consciousness produced by brain activity constitutes the power of the revelation of brain activity itself. They must also admit that this is a real consciousness and not an illusion because if it were an illusion it would be equal to nothing and hold no power to reveal brain activity. We can only know about brain activity by means of a real consciousness. Yet, these same materialists would maintain that self-consciousness is an illusion. But if the power of the revelation of brain activity must be real, then why cannot this same power of revelation reveal itself to itself? Indeed, self-consciousness must be real because we are not only conscious of brain activity, we are conscious of the consciousness of brain activity. This also makes self-consciousness a continuous retreat toward infinity. This self-consciousness that is connected to infinity can only be the spirit of man which survives bodily death.