Originally posted by raj10463
Lets unconfuse everyone real quick. Consciousness is not some mysterious state of being nor is it an isolated existence. In order to understand this all we have to first decide what is capable of possessing a conscious thought. Well the fact is that not all life is conscious because not all life has a brain. So being alive and conscious are not the same state, unfortunately a prime example of this difference in our state of existence would be somebody who is in a coma, just like a tree they are alive but not conscious.

Our awareness of our own existence stems from the processes used during thought. Thought is the collective network of mental tools an intelligent life form uses in absorbing, retaining and processing information. These tools; like memory or our senses, are results of evolution and the redundant build up of our brain's capacity to perform which increases our chance of survival. Next we need to realise the important connection between what information is and what defines a living being. Information put simple is a relation made between two separate subjects by a third and separate intelligent observer. In collaboration with the process of memory we become able to retain this information to benefit from at a different time.