Ive always found the concept of self-awareness so mind blowing that I couldn't explain it in any rational way. Ive also never heard of anyone discussing this and I really feel like sharing a piece of my mind
When you think about it we aren't
that different from robots. Sure were made of more elastic and natural materials, but the architecture is pretty familiar. But were not really referred to as the same. Hell, we don't even refer to them as living beings.
If you happened to 'kill' a robot programed to act like a human, society wouldn't try to punish you. But why is that? I mean the robot acted exactly like a person getting murdered. Many would answer that the reason lies in the fact that a robot can't feel pain, it can just act like it does. If you asked that person why so, he would likely answer that robots aren't self-aware.
But then you begin to wonder. Why do I have self-awareness? Why aren't I - as a biological machine, not as disconnected from 'reality' as a robot?
When you think about it, you can't really tell if anyone besides you is aware ether. I mean they can act like they are, but do they have that higher level? Maybe I'm the only one that can do this? Wow... What an ego boost!
Wait, wait.. What's that
'higher level', or
'sense of reality' to begin with? Is it just an illusion my psyche is pulling on me? But it can't be, that goes against my logic. Just the fact that I'm aware of the fact I'm reflecting upon this right now makes the idea of my mind interfering invalid. Or is it just my crappy logic?
This is probably the only seemingly supernatural concept that I have ever encountered.
What do you guys think? Is self-awareness just a trick of the mind, or is it something that's beyond our psychology?