From Consciousness To Infinity

"All consciousness is consciousness of something," as Jean Paul Sartre so aptly wrote. If this be indubiatably true, then it would seem that consciousness must objectify anything of which it is conscious. This can be the only way in which consciousness works. That of which consciousness is conscious must be separate from consciousness itself. Consciousness itself has to be the active agent; that is, consciousness operates to put its object in a state of awareness. The object has to be in a passive state; that is, that on which consciousness operates to bring it into a state of awareness. An object cannot be one with the consciousness of it for the same reason that a photograph cannot be one with the camera that takes it.

If brain activity is identical with consciousness, then it would seem that the one entity of which consciousness could never be conscious is brain activity. That which is one with itself cannot be separate from itself. In order for consciousness to be conscious of brain activity, then consciousness must objectify it. This requires that consciousness separate itself from brain activity in order to be conscious of it. Then again, in order for an awareness of brain activity to exist, there must be a consciousness of the consciousness of brain activity. But then again, this consciousness requires still another consciousness, and so forth toward infinity. This effect would seem to indicate that consciousness cannot be a material substance. Consciousness must be some immaterial substance connected to infinity.

The materialists might counter this argument by contending that this view of consciousness constitutes but an illusion. But this illusion begins with a consciousness of brain activity which is an absolute fact. This fact can only mean that the consciousness of brain activity must also be an absolute fact since it is quite impossible to say anything, or write anything, of which one is not conscious. If brain activity is working as it should, and the consciousness of it is also working as it should, then how can this fact be an illusion? Illusions are always about something that does not work as it should. Illusions always equal nothing. Since consciousness of brain activity, and its requisite connection to infinity, must be real since otherwise one could say nothing about it; then this condition cannot be an illusion since if it were, it would equal nothing and one could say nothing about it.

The materialists might counter with the argument that the illusion is circular and not linear. However, by saying this, the materialists must admit that they are conscious of this circularity. If so, they must also admit that their consciousness has departed on a tangent that requires a linear connection of their consciousness to infinity.

The simple truth behind all of this speculation is that human consciousness requires a transcendent connection to infinity in order to be self-conscious and intelligent. This also means that the infinite must be a Conscious Infinity.