But is the soul delivered to us, for our care and curation?
Or does it only exist because it is the fruit of our bodies?
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I’m not sure anyone has all the answers or knows exactly what’s next, let alone what’s best. I think individual conscious minds has been selected for and we just have to make it work. But I don’t think we’re alone really. Just like the layers of the brain the entities created by consciousness may well be cumulative though distinct.
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Possibly. But I prefer to believe the evidence that the higher level of human consciousness appeared relatively suddenly as a Great Leap Forward (using Jared Diamond’s terminology). It might have been by means of some sort of epigenetic biological mechanism of which science is presently unaware, and outside of what is now considered as Neo-Darwinian evolution. Otherwise, the Neanderthals, whose brains had evolved slightly larger than their contemporary Homo sapien primates, would have had minds as fully capable. Do you think they did?
Al Leo
Glad you mention the GLF, it came to my mind again when I thought about the evolving consciousness. I, for myself think that Chalmers is right that if we had a complete roadmap of the brain, one can still point out that this doesn´t represent consciousness. But what I asked myself is what does biology of the Homo Sapiens (Sapiens) say about the brain structure between the first appaerance of our species and the seemingly very sudden appaer of consciousness? That reductionism completely fails at representing the task seems like a given and I see it as an emergentia phenomenon, but I ask myself if there is any difference in the main interconnection of the neurons in the early and later state of our species and if they influenced the evolving of our mind.
A couple weeks ago I stumbled on Madeline L’Engle’s non-fiction And It Was Good. She discussed the relationship between the image of God, the Trinity, and it “not being good for Adam to be alone” to make some thought-provoking points about the “image of God” in humans requiring community to be completely represented. I’ll try to remember to look up the exact quote and post it here - but when I read it I remember thinking, Of course! I’ve been pondering what the image of God might mean regarding consciousness, the soul, etc, and it’s just like me as an individualistic Westerner to be assuming the whole thing - whatever it is - is individualistic in its very essence!
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I think you are bang in target with that.
What separates mankind from the beasts… is that humans have a different quality of thinking, of awareness, of self reflection…
…and it makes sense that someone would reflect upon this reality as something that makes men more like the immortals tham like the beasts…
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Here is an interesting biblical angle regarding human thinking/consciousness.
Key point is the idea that God intendended humans (Adam and Eve) to develop in maturity ( ability to make ‘good’ decisions)…
Conclusion
God laid a temporary prohibition on his children, who were set to grow into wise, mature, and free adulthood by way of obedience. They were to become like gods, judging between good and evil, and the tree was an opportunity to train them in this. However, the serpent tempted them with seizing this prerogative prematurely, by way of rebellion. Adam and Eve did judge between good and evil, but their act of judgment was flawed and proved fatal.
I might suggest that this was THE GLF, however humans were not yet mature (developed or evolved) to control this, like giving a child a loaded gun?
Another good point from the article is that humans submitted to an animal ( Satan as serpant), however the created order was for humans to ‘rule’ over animals.
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