On the Problem of Understanding Consciousness

Abstract

The most difficult aspect of understanding consciousness may possibly have arisen from the basic premise that consciousness is something which arises in the brain, and by inference that mind and consciousness are aspects of brain activity involving electro-chemical processes. With this premise came the requirement for any theory of consciousness to be based on existing scientific and philosophical knowledge. I take the view that consciousness is a fundamental of reality, a view suggested from my experiences while in the state of Samapatti. From this perspective I would assert that the issues surrounding our understanding of consciousness are more than those of how, or even whether, consciousness arises in the brain.