Question: What is consciousness?

Wilhelmiina Toivo answered on 6 Mar 2017:

This is a debated topic in psychology and philosophy, one that has not been answered properly yet (if it ever will be!). In short, consciousness means you are aware of your surroundings, but researchers don’t agree whether you have to be aware of your self too to be a ‘properly’ conscious being. For example, they disagree whether animals can be really conscious, as with some species we cannot know for sure if they are conscious of their own thoughts. Some definitions say consciousness also includes memory and being able to remember and plan things, as well as being able to describe your feelings and thoughts – this is why some researchers and philosophers say consciousness relates to being able to use language (and according to this definition it is debatable whether babies or animals can be truly conscious).