Questions without Answers

Abstract

As we explore the biological foundations of consciousness we are confronted with a confounding mystery. The many layers of our inquiry are two fold– how do the biological underpinnings of the machinations of our brains give rise to the phenomenology of experience and relatedly, how do our thoughts and emotions affect our biology? While Descartes posited that we can “know” reality through his famous, “I think, therefore I am”, current neuroscience inquiries suggest that “we feel, therefore we know we exist”. In this paradigm we can safely assume that animate life is distinguished from inanimate existence due to the capacity to feel. Thus, some level of consciousness exists in all living things and with this acknowledgment, we can re-establish the value of life. This concept dovetails nicely with Spinoza’s assertion that God permeates everything and there is no separation between God and creation, linked by relationship between self and other.