Free will again (Humans)

by BBella , Thursday, March 08, 2012, 06:06 (4642 days ago) @ dhw

I expect most of us realized even when we were in our teens that there are different levels of consciousness, and that is indeed a source of sheer wonderment (how the heck could cells in the brain be aware of being aware?) ... but her article makes it seem as if she has never previously been aware of this fact!-I find it very believable that she had just became aware of this fact, because I myself did not become aware of it until my early to mid forties. And, I know many people that have still yet to become aware of it, and a few I know are just becoming aware of it at an even older age than I did.-> Incidentally (nothing to do with free will), awareness of awareness can be extremely damaging. It's quite deadly, for instance, if you're an actor. You're playing a part. You're aware that you're playing a part (and you're aware of the other characters and the audience), but the moment you step outside yourself and become aware that you're aware that you're playing a part, you lose all naturalness. The audience will sense this, and you'll be looking for another job. -I understand where you are coming from, as it is imperative for an actor to stay within the mode of the character, but not sure what you mean by "deadly?" Maybe you mean deadly for his job. But the awareness you are speaking of above sounds to me more of a self-consciousness, which isn't what I feel we have been discussing, and what doesn't seem to me to be what she is referencing. I could be wrong though. -> The same process applies if you're walking down the street. You know you're walking down the street, but the moment someone turns a film camera on you, you'll be aware of being aware that you're walking down the street, and you may well forget how to walk naturally. For highly introvert people, the danger is that they will lose all spontaneity. I don't know why Susan Blackmore should think she's discovered something unusual, but I hope her students will learn to control how they switch from one level to another.-I'm wondering if there isn't a confusion about just what's being discussed in this article and what we were discussing before. For me, when I identify with the observe within, I do not become self-conscious and begin to act unnaturally. I feel I actually become more natural. I don't know.-bb