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| Photo image Is it food! |
Great. With that understanding, your question opens up a journey of thought about what consciousness is, where perception arises, and whether the eye – the classic symbol of perception – is really a window to the soul, or just a biological mechanism masquerading as depth.
Let’s go a little further:
Is it consciousness…
Or is it just an illusion, a natural simulation
The eye – seemingly able to see – but does it know that it is seeing?
A flash of light in the eyes of a wild animal
Is it a sign of the soul?
Or is it just a reflection of moonlight hitting the retina?
Humans, in their quest for knowledge, often attribute a “human quality” to the eyes of animals:
“It is sad.”
“It understands me.” “It has a soul.”
But if consciousness is just the result of a complex of neurons reacting to the external environment, then is the eye anything more than a biological operation?
Is consciousness just a cosmic accident?
A mechanism that started out purposeless, but naturally learned to reflect on itself?
So what is “consciousness”?
Is it the awareness of one’s own existence?
Is it the ability to distinguish between what is real and what is perceived?
Is it when the eyes not only see, but also understand that they are seeing?
And the eyes of that beast,
it looks straight at us – without blinking.
We think it understands…
But maybe it’s just the predatory instinct measuring the distance.
So what do we perceive?
Perhaps it’s not that it is conscious…
But it’s our consciousness that assigns it a depth that doesn’t exist. It Is Foob! The Self-Delusional Mirror of the Look
