What is Conciousness

After reading our assigned book, Genesis, It led me to really think about what consciousness means in general. I have never really thought of the word, Consciousness, but I did have moments where I would wonder how I was able to make decisions unintentionally, or how I am able to hear myself in my head to help me make those decisions on how I should act every day in my life. Even now, as I am typing this report, I am thinking based on the information I got and what comes up in my head without much effort. I would also wonder how we are able to learn something almost every second because of their influence, and apply them so that we could use them to help shape us on how we view ourselves and the world around us. For example, little things could be being able to cook a certain dish, or knowing when to get up without using an alarm; or the big things like learning a language in school or applying a new skill for a job.

In relation to psychology, I was able to compare and contrast with the theory of consciousness which helped me understand the important roles of what our brains do. In my psychology class, in order to understand who we are as humans, we studied the brain and its developments. This was really helpful for my research because, not only was I able to get resources from Rita Carter, but I was able to apply my knowledge of psychology to support my body. Based on my knowledge, and my source from Rita Carter, there are three locations in the brain that each holds certain structures. In one of the three locations; the Thalamus directs attention and controls the sensory input; the Reticular Formation stimulates the cortex of the brain with no consciousness; and the Hippocampus stores personal memories and are also responsible ...

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...ivity and place themselves within a scheme of things, recognizing themselves as creators as well as observers of the natural universe” (Carter, 2002, p. 307).

In answer to my premise of whether or not consciousness is something we are born with, and that we require consciousness in order to survive, I believe it is true. In support of the novel “Genesis”, the book of “Exploring Consciousness”, and my knowledge of Psychology, it is clear to me that yes, we don’t have all the answers, but that we’ve been started with this gift of consciousness ever since we came to evolve, and because of this, we were able to teach ourselves on how to live in this world based on our environment, experience, and feelings. “Life is making of order out or disorder. It is the ability to draw in energy from the outside world, to create form. To grow. To reproduce.” (Beckett, 2009, p.92).