Do you think "You" will ever know consciousness again?

I'm not sure how to explain this question but I'll give it a try.

 

<15 minutes go by...  I'm still trying to work this into words>

 

When we are conceived and then born as an infant, I assume most of you would agree that that newborn has a completely clean slate as far as identity.   And of dealing with this new burst of "awareness."   We, through our life experiences, become the unique individuals we are today.   We have a firm sense of "self."  

 

As atheists we know an afterlife does not exist.   We meet the same fate as any other organism on the planet.   We die.   Our bodies die.   Our brains; filled with a lifetime of experiences and memories, dies.   All that we were ceases to exist.   And "We" return to that void of non-existance from which we were temporarily plucked 70 or 80 years earlier for a bright yet brief ride

 

Here's the question...

 

Do you think "You" will ever know consciuosness again?  

 

Knowing that your consciousness will cease to exist upon your death, have any of you given thought to the possibility of some other organism, in some other galaxy, perhaps in some other universe and in some other time MIGHT develop a consciousness in which "You" will once again be aware?   I realize it wouldn't be "Us."   But just as we were thrust into this reality from seeming nothingness, would this occurance be possible again?   Perhaps an infinate amout of times?   Could "We" suddenly spark into another existence at some point spontaneously like we did withour life here?

 

In asking this question of all of you, my intent is to not to equate it with traditional views on reincarnation.   I'm looking at this from a purely scientific standpoint.   Nothing mystical involved.

 

 

 

 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Broc T. Glover on September 4, 2010 at 8:07am
Note to self: Spell check.

infinite, existence
Permalink Reply by Black Magick Woman on September 4, 2010 at 8:25am
I dunno...I can't get past how..."reincarnation-y" this sounds, lol.
Permalink Reply by Stephen Moore on September 4, 2010 at 10:49am
Doubtful, to the point that I say, "No".

Consciousness arises out of the physical brain and is dependant upon the structure of the brain. Hormones and other chemicals affect our conscious being, but only to the point that such effect is upon that brain structure.

For there to be a 'me' that arises in some other being - be it a being on Earth or a being on some other planet - would require some essence of me to exist separate and distinct from the physical structure that is the body. There is no credible, let alone compelling, evidence that this is the case.
Permalink Reply by Broc T. Glover on September 4, 2010 at 9:44pm
Yes, I do admit it sounds very "reincarnation-y."

Thing is, I do not believe the traditional views on reincarnation to be true.

YET... presupposing that there may be an infinite number of universes besides our own combined with an infinite amount of time for occurances to happen...

This is getting weird. hehe
Permalink Reply by Stephen Moore on September 5, 2010 at 12:45am
With an infinite number of universes with an infinite amount of time, it is possible that in one of those universes there may be a being that would have attributes sufficiently similar to me that we are indistinguishable, but that other being still would not be me. It would be a wholly unique individual that is sufficiently indistinguishable from me only because of chance.
Permalink Reply by Jim DePaulo on September 5, 2010 at 10:58am
I read a SF novel a number of years ago that touched on this theme. A form of long distance "teleportation" was used to colonize distant planets; however, what actually occurred was an exact clone (physically and mentally) was created on the target planet. The Earth bound original went on with their life and the copy's most recent memory,as he stepped into an alien world, was stepping into the "transporter" on Earth.
Somewhere in the novel it was asked if they were exact copies and the answer was - yes, for a few seconds.
Permalink Reply by William C. Walker on October 4, 2010 at 5:50pm
You have 'weirded me out.'
Permalink Reply by Broc T. Glover on September 5, 2010 at 6:36am
Very good points, Stephen. And I agree. Earlier I had meantioned that, when each of us was born, we were all a clean slate. There really was no "us" at that stage. A newborn, I would think, would have no self-identity. We only started developing our unique sense of selves as we grew and lived our unique life experiences. But the "clean slate" is the key I suppose in what I'm trying to ultimately convey here. Our consciousness was not placed in our bodies. As they developed our brains eventually became each of us as time passed. My use of quotes around words such as "you", "I" or "we" is meant to signify that I recognize we have no residual spirit or soul after death. Yet at the same time I still had to use the terms to make the story readable and for it make a small amount of sense. I'm not trying to inply that, after physical death, our current consciousness would survive and commence floating around the multiverses looking for a new life form to jump into. Rather, it's the possibility of developing a NEW clean slate at some point. Of course "we" (there I go again) would not occupy this new life form. But just as "we" suddenly burst into this reality from nothing, could it occur again? A new life form under completely different circumstances develops in some place and some time in which "we" will know some level of consciousness again. But it won't be us.
Permalink Reply by S A Barton on September 6, 2010 at 9:09pm
Think of it this way... when you go to sleep, who wakes up? Our consciousness changes with each new perception. Over time, the alterations are immense. Are you the same person as the ten year old you? There are some common threads, but most of those memories and priorities are gone. Only the most pronounced memories remain, and even those are suspect. In a very real sense, the ten year old you is gone, and only you remain as you are now. Until the next now.

Or, to put it more simply... why worry about it?
Permalink Reply by Jim DePaulo on September 8, 2010 at 2:05pm
Beyond the edited history of our "self", our physical 10 year old self has been replaced on the cellular level several times (depending on age). What is constant is the DNA coding that governs the replacement process.
Permalink Reply by Noah Simoneaux on October 12, 2010 at 2:20am
It's sort of like the old saying that you can't step on the same water in a flowing river twice.
Permalink Reply by Louis on September 8, 2010 at 2:23pm
Doubtful.

It might be nice. It might even be fun -- but there's no evidence to suggest it.

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