The Paradox of Consciousness: A Kierkegaardian Reflection
Today, I found myself once again pondering on the nature of consciousness, and this led me to take a mental tour of Kierkegaard. Although one of my most famous countrymen, I usually don’t pay him a lot of attention. I tried to remedy that.
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“I think, therefore I am.” Descartes’ famous line is seen by many as the best proof of our consciousness. After all, it’s tough to deny something we experience so intimately. However, the fact that we can’t objectively measure or observe consciousness sometimes makes people question its existence.
As philosopher Galen Strawson points out, this denial is really quite silly. But I’ll entertain the idea for a moment, anyway: If we can’t measure consciousness, someone with a physicalist mindset might argue that it has no consequence, and thus it doesn’t exist. This leads to a paradox: I know consciousness exists, but at the same time, I know it doesn’t. How can this be?
This puzzle brings me to existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who had something to say about such contradictions. In fact, he’d probably argue that the contradiction itself is at the heart of the human experience.
Kierkegaard emphasized the importance of subjectivity, suggesting that our personal experiences are the only way to truly understand our existence. He claimed that “subjectivity is truth,” meaning that our inner world is the most valuable source of knowledge about ourselves. This idea resonates with my understanding of consciousness: while we may not be able to measure it objectively, it’s undeniably a part of our experience.
When thinking about Kierkegaard and consciousness, the concept of his famous “leap of faith” also seems relevant. Kierkegaard believed that some aspects of our existence can’t be fully grasped through reason alone, so we must accept them with a leap of faith. Although Kierkegaard was religious and referred to religious faith, I’m not religious, but maybe consciousness is one of these aspects — something that defies objective measurement but still requires our acceptance.
In a way, the paradox of consciousness also connects with Kierkegaard’s thoughts on the “dizziness of freedom.” The idea that our consciousness might not be measurable or fully comprehensible is indeed dizzying. It invites us to delve into the unknown and embrace the mysteries of existence. Instead of rejecting consciousness because it can’t be measured, perhaps we should welcome it as a fundamental part of our existence.
I hope to find a way to reconcile the paradox of consciousness, despite it having no measurable consequences in the physical world. I don’t want to take a Kierkegaardian leap of faith and accept the paradoxical nature of our consciousness, but for now, I have to.
No doubt, I’ll revisit this topic in future posts.
