Quote:
Originally Posted by mogui
Having a vast appreciation of the process of evolution and all that it has achieved, I find it easy to view that generative process as intelligent. But that which we call life is a product of that process. Not all of it is conscious, though we can argue about the nature of consciousness. Maybe it is a sensate awareness of self -- how it feels to be me. We can wonder how far down the phyla this awareness goes. My hunch is that it is restricted to the mammalian brain. Can we claim the universe itself is conscious? I suspect not.
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I wouldn't make the same assumption, myself... I believe some non-mammals have consciousness (birds and fish, for instance). And remember, there is no exact or accepted definition for "consciousness, " so it's a highly debatable state anyway.
As far as the universe "itself" being conscious: My body is made up of cells, so I share the traits of the cells that make me up, even though I am not directly aware of the things the cells do. The universe is made up on things like me, so it shares the traits of the "me"s that make it up, even though it is not directly aware of what the "me"s are doing.
(And I stop there, because anything I add just breaks down the logic...)