What does it mean to be human?

A conscious being knows they are conscious. But they cannot know that any other being is. (Image: Depositphotos)

Sat, 17 Jun 2023

“I think, therefore I am.” René Descartes’ aphorism has become a cliché. But it cuts to the core of perhaps the greatest question posed to science: what is consciousness? Many other phenomena described – time and space, matter and energy, even life itself – look tractable. They can be measured and objectified, and thus theorised about. Consciousness, by contrast, is subjective. As Descartes’ observation suggests, a conscious being knows he is conscious. But he cannot know that any...

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